Hidden
by Professor Fruitcake
Summary: Luke isn't normally one to wake up early, but when the rain wakes him early in the morning he decides to have a quick look around the Bostonius. What he finds is something he didn't expect: there is a traitor among them. An AU on what could have happened if identities were discovered earlier. Will most likely contain threats and violence. Spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

**Quick warning, everything here is a work in progress. Things may get edited in or out - sometimes more than once. The edits shouldn't change the story too much, but I can't be certain that they won't.**

 **And just for the record, the characters here all belong to Level-5**

* * *

Luke rubbed his groggy eyes, his vision still an unfocused blur from just waking up. A light rain drizzled down the windows, creating a light pattering on the glass. The boy slid out of his warm bed to be met by a cold chill in the air. He gave a small shiver before pulling on the warmth that was his navy blue dressing gown. The steadily ticking wind-up clock on the bedside table was the next to catch his attention - it was only 4am. Going back to sleep straight away wasn't going to be easy with the pitter-pattering of rain, so the boy decided to get himself a glass of water.

Rising onto the balls of his feet, Luke wandered out of the bedroom with careful steps. Directly opposite his room at the far end of the corridor was the professor's, from which the familiar but bothersome sound of snoring escaped. Other than this, it was silent. Silent enough to hear his own footsteps echo as he made his way to the oak door at the other end.

Luke was somewhat surprised to see that Raymond wasn't up and about already - despite how early it was. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he wouldn't need to explain what he was doing awake at such a time (not that the butler would pry to begin with). With a stretch, the boy reached for a glass. The gigantic window by the sink was what drew his attention as he poured the water. Behind the silhouette of the walled town, the sky had turned dull and grey clouds convened. The drizzle had become a downpour.

The boy gave a sigh, taking a sip of his water. It would be tough getting back to sleep with the constant pattering on the windows.

* * *

Sycamore pushed together his lips. He scrutinized the mask, furrowing his brows. "Why?" He mumbled, running his right hand through the fringe of his hair, not bothering to correct his fallen glasses. "What sort of _imbecile_ am I to have believed that this would be a good idea?" He had resorted to this persona to deceive Layton, but as time went on, the act was becoming more and more difficult to keep up. The man didn't know if it was the guilt of tricking his brother yet again or the upheaval of memories that he was plagued by, but the sooner he could be rid of Desmond Sycamore, the better - for his sanity's sake.

* * *

Sauntering back to his bedroom, Luke was relieved to hear that the noise of the professor's snoring had ceased - for now anyway. One less thing keeping him awake, he thought. The silence in the professor's room however, had allowed for another sound to be heard from the next room down. While he knew that the professor wouldn't approve of it, Luke's curious mind got the better of him, and so the boy approached the room.

The door had been left slightly ajar. Luke held his glass of water close to his chest with both hands and leaned in close. Whilst the words were a muddle to the boy, he could hear the low mutterings of Professor Sycamore.

Luke tapped on the door lightly in attempt to not wake anyone else up. Sycamore fell silent. Luke knocked again but still there was no response - maybe he was sleep talking? Luke peered around the door. No, he wasn't asleep. The professor was sitting down on the edge of his bed. The boy gave the door a push.

Sycamore tensed up, but didn't turn around. Who was it? Raymond would almost always address him before entering. The professor slipped the mask into his sleeve, making sure that it was done as inconspicuously as possible.

Luke walked into the room - it was much larger than the one that he was sleeping in, and much tidier. Sycamore was still in his suit, except his red glasses lay beside him on the bed. "Umm... Professor Sycamore?" Luke murmured. There was a short pause before the professor stood up, and as he did so, something fell from his sleeve.

"Luke!" He responded, his voice showing only the slightest hint of annoyance which he had failed to hide. Of all of the people that it could have been, Luke wasn't one that he had considered. He glanced at the clock. "It is only 4am, what is it you need?" He asked, his eyes looking not at the boy but at the wall as he spoke.

"Umm..." Luke paused, his eyes still fixated on the white slip that had fallen. The truth was, he was only in there due to his curiosity. " I think you dropped something over there when you stood up, professor." he said, ignoring Sycamore's question.

"Ah." Desmond kicked himself mentally. " Yes, I know." He said stiffly - the only response he could think of. " And I can pick it up later. Come on now, we have a lot to discover tomorrow and you don't want to be tired, do you?" he continued, walking over to Luke to usher him out of the room. They couldn't find out. The last thing he wanted was for them to find out - not before he'd finished. "I-uh, I'm just going to go and do something, you should probably get back into your bed." He didn't need to go anywhere really, but Sycamore hoped that the excuse would be enough to distract the boy's attention.

"It's fine professor - really, it is. Here, I can tidy it up for you while you're gone." Luke said enthusiastically, stopping himself from making a cheeky comment about how old people can hurt their backs easily.

"Come on now, Luke. Off you go. I can get it myself." The man said, trying to restrain himself from shouting at the child. He had to remain calm and responsible - like Desmond Sycamore should be. At times like this, however ,when he risked losing all that he had worked towards, he couldn't help but feel his temper begin to simmer inside of him.

But Luke had already scurried over to the side of the bed, disregarding the professor's protests.

"Luke! Please!" Sycamore called, reaching out his arm with his hand outstretched. He was usually softly-spoken but this was a cry of both anger and desperation. He knew he had to stay calm. He kept repeating it in his head - if he stayed calm he could sort this out; but the second he saw Luke just metres away from uncovering his hidden identity, that mentality went out the window. The professor ran after the boy, but it was too late. He had already seen.

Luke raised his eyebrow, giving Sycamore a brief look of confusion before picking up the item. He was expecting it to be a piece of paper - some sort of secret love confession maybe (adults seemed to always be making them and get angry when they were read), possibly a letter from a close friend or even just a puzzle that he was afraid to admit he was stuck on - but it wasn't.

"A mask."

Sycamore froze. It would have been one thing if Layton had found it, but Luke? How was he meant to react? All he knew was that he wasn't going to be like Bronev and take his anger out on an innocent child.

Luke looked down at the mask in his hands and frowned slightly, but then let out a giggle. "The professor told you about Descole, didn't he? He was completely evil - not like you, professor." Luke held the mask up to his own face and turned to look at himself in the mirror, pulling a few faces. "He wears a mask just like this."

There was silence.

"You try it on!" The boy said, and when Sycamore declined hastily, Luke held the mask up to the stunned professor's face instead.

"You look a bit like him with this mask on..." Luke whispered, beginning to feel a little unnerved. He paused to properly observe the man in front of him. "Now that I think about it I'm sure he even wears shoes just like that." The resemblance was uncanny.

The professor stared back almost sadly for a moment, then let out a pathetic excuse of a fake laugh. "Luke, you..." he gave another fake laugh - this one was even more uncomfortable than the last, "You cannot be serious?"

Something clicked in Luke's brain. "And your voice! And that's why you know so much about Misthallery, and Ambrosia and... and _the professor_!" He couldn't help but shout now, his tone a mixture of shock and determination. His glass of water smashed onto the floor as he declared: "Descole! It's you!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Descole! It's _you_!" Luke shouted, his steadfast tone wavering a little with his own disbelief. He dashed the mask onto the floor. How could they have been living alongside him for all this time and not suspected anything at all?

Sycamore's eyes narrowed, and looked away from the boy. He brought his hand to his face. Normally, this would be the moment where he reveals his 'true' identity before either causing as much destruction as he could or leaving dramatically. The part where he would at least make a final stab for victory. He could do none of it. He wasn't finished - he _couldn't_ finish without their help.

"Desc..." His words began as merely a tapered-off whisper. In attempt to conceal the apprehension that he could feel was being involuntarily projected onto his face, Sycamore forced himself to remove any traces of emotion with a slow breath - it was all so much more difficult when you weren't hiding behind a disguise. "D-Descole?" He said again, trying to be more firm. But that single name had come out more hesitant than it was meant to.

He gasped quietly at the realisation of his dubious tone. "No." He said, reducing his voice back down to a whisper. His biggest fear was Layton overhearing - if he found out then his cover would, without a doubt, be blown completely.

Luke folded his arms and squinted back at the man. _There would be no hiding it anymore_ He thought. The professor would be so proud of him for finding out before he did - and before Descole could cause any trouble. The boy growled in frustration - any other time Descole would have admitted to being in a disguise. This time, however... "You're a fake! An _impostor_!" The man's disbelieving tone wasn't about to fool him.

The rain seemed to suddenly intensify. The light pattering of the little beads becoming heavier, bouncing off every surface.

Luke's hands clenched into tight fists and he leapt forward at Sycamore, shouting and screaming. Fragments of the smashed glass were strewn across the floor. The boy seized the professor's hair, yanking at it. _The second this disguise was removed they would see Descole for who he really was_.

"LUKE!" Sycamore yelled, his anger flaring as he shoved the small boy away. His narrowed, anger-filled eyes widened. He shouldn't have done that, even though the child was attacking him.

The boy gave a yelp, and stumbled backwards, falling onto the bed.

"Wha- What are you doing?" Cried a small voice from behind the door.

The pair's eyes jumped to the doorway. One with a look of determination, the other looking devastated.

"A-Aurora, I-" Sycamore began unsteadily, straightening his tie and then bringing his hand to his glasses. He did not know long she had been standing there, but knowing his luck she hadn't seen Luke attack him first, making his actions look completely irrational. He pushed up his glasses and ran his hand through his now untidy hair.

"Don't you listen to him Aurora! He is a traitor!" Luke yelled at the girl, pointing an accusing finger at the professor. "This isn't Professor Sycamore - the _real_ Sycamore is probably locked away somewhere - it is Descole, and he can't be trusted!" The boy backed away slowly to stand next to Aurora. If he had removed the disguise then she would have been able to see the proof herself.

The Azran girl gasped and looked up at Sycamore. The professor couldn't meet her gaze.

The uproar had awoken another member of the Bostonius up - Emmy.

"Hey! What on _earth_ is going on here?" She snapped, folding her arms. She paused, registering the conversation that she had heard. "Luke did you just accuse the professor of being-"

"No..." Sycamore sighed, his voice becoming calmer and more collected - like it usually was. "I am Desmond Sycamore." Telling the truth gave him the ability to speak with more conviction than he had to begin with.

Sycamore turned his back on all of them and paced towards the back wall. His hand was sprawled out across the side of his face, hiding his torment. "Perhaps it is best for you all to go back to sleep." he took a glance at the clock, before turning back around. His hand slid down to under his ear. "Maybe try to get in a few more hours?"

Emmy frowned but then placed a hand on Luke's shoulder to guide him out of the room. The boy scowled. "Get off me!" he snapped at Emmy.

"Luke..." Emmy began. She had descovered that Luke could get quite angry at times - when that happened, it was best to leave him alone for a bit.

 _Something wasn't right about Professor Sycamore_ he thought, and he was certain that he knew why. Luke remembered what happened at the museum with his dad: Layton had been investigating who had stolen the Azran relics, and the second he considered Descole as a suspect the other professor jumped in to quickly mention that it was probably someone else - not to mention the fact he knew about the problems that Layton had encountered with the man when the professor had told nobody of them.

* * *

Luke and Aurora both headed back to bed feeling perplexed. Once she had seen to them both, Emmy returned to Sycamore's room. She knocked the door (which was now shut fully unlike earlier) with a single knuckle.

"Who is it?" the professor asked, his voice sounding dull and monotone.

"It is me, Emmy! Can I come in?"

There was some shuffling from within the room, then a few seconds later, Sycamore replied, "Okay."

Emmy walked in to see the professor on the floor, clearing up broken glass from the floor - she hadn't noticed it there before.

They both fell silent. The professor continued to sweep up the glass. He had nothing to tell Emmy - nothing that he wanted to tell her, anyway.

"Professor you didn't smash that glass did you?" she asked, lifting a finger. "You don't seem like the sort of person who would wreck things in a fit of rage."

"It was Luke that dropped it." He said, continuing to look down at the floor. He paused for a moment, looked up, then quickly added: "It was an accident though, so don't get on at him." The less Luke spoke about what happened, the better.

"Are you sure?" Emmy asked with a slight frown. "He was getting pretty angry from what I heard."

"Yes, I am sure." Sycamore answered, standing up to throw away the broken glass.

After throwing it away he picked up his glasses off of his bed. He wasn't sure what or who Emmy believed, and if he could convince her then maybe she could convince Luke. Sycamore turned to her. "I am Desmond Sycamore." he stated to Emmy; repeating what he had said earlier.

She gave him a look of concern. "I know." she said.

There was another silence.

"...you know, I have to wonder what made him accuse you of being Descole." Emmy stated, "What exactly happened?"

Sycamore adjusted his glasses. He had no choice but to tell the truth in order to stay convincing - embellished with a few lies, that is. "I heard someone walk past my room and go into the kitchen. It came from one of the end rooms and I just assumed it was Layton. If I'd have known it was Luke I would have spoken to him." the man began, telling the truth. "He was mumbling something or another to himself, then a few minutes later I turn to see him in this room." Sycamore pushed back his glasses nervously yet again. "He started shouting, and then decided to attack me... The rest I presume you heard."

"That doesn't seem like Luke, he isn't really one to get mad without a reason." Emmy thought for a moment before continuing, "What made him think you were Descole anyway?"

"We wear the same shoes apparently." Sycamore murmured, picking out the weakest of Luke's arguments intentionally.

"Oh." Emmy looked down at the professor's shoes and let out a stifled giggled

"I don't know..." Sycamore sighed. "Please just get it through to him that I'm not..." It wasn't Emmy that he was trying to convince, it was himself. "I am not a bad person. He has got it all wrong."

"I'll do that for you now - if he is still awake, that is." She offered with a smile. The suspiciously regretful way in which he spoke seemed to go over her head.

"Thank you." He nodded back with a quiet smile.

"Goodnight, professor." Emmy said sweetly.

"Goodnight."


	3. Chapter 3

"Goodnight." said Sycamore as Emmy closed the door to his room. It wasn't until she had left that he felt he could breathe a sigh of relief. _Thank goodness that conversation was over._

But it also brought worry. Emmy said that she was going to speak to Luke - perhaps she would be able to talk some sense into him. _No, not sense - the boy had too much of that_. Maybe she could convince the young boy that he was wrong, even though he knew he was right.

Desmond put on his red glasses and stared out of the window, but it wasn't the hilly landscape that he was looking at. The rain on the window fragmented the man's reflection of himself, and it was then he noticed that the white mask was still lying behind him on the floor - luckily out of sight from Emmy and Aurora were standing earlier.

He picked it up, holding the white mask up to his face. Normally when he put the mask on he would feel energised and strong, determined and unbeatable, but right now he felt torn. The night had already told him: the hope was gone - he couldn't be any different from Descole - not even if he tried.

* * *

Meanwhile, Emmy peered around Luke's door. She sighed when she saw that Luke was still awake.

The boy was sitting on the edge of his bed and appeared to be deep in thought.

"Luke..." she began, "Don't you think that you should be getting to sleep? It is almost 5am, after all." He had calmed down since she had seen him earlier - which was a good sign.

Luke nodded a little unwillingly and got himself back into his bed and watched as Emmy began to leave the small room. Just before she left, she stopped; hand half-covering the light switch ready to turn it off. "By the way, Sycamore isn't a bad person, Luke." Emmy said, looking Luke in the eyes. "I'm sure professor Layton wouldn't be impressed if he heard about what you had done to him."

Luke looked down a little guiltily, he hadn't expected 'Sycamore' to tell Emmy about what he had done - mainly because Luke had huge amounts of evidence to prove that he wasn't who he was claiming to be. The boy shook his head with force. "Emmy do you not believe me?" he shouted, "I have proof you know! But I guess he missed out that part." Luke crossed his arms and looked at Emmy.

"What is your proof?" she asked calmly, walking closer and kneeling down on the rug that lay next to Luke's bed. She was only expecting the boy to come out with the comment about their shoes that Sycamore had mentioned - and maybe one about thier voices too (Emmy had picked up on the similarities in the way the two men spoke) - she did not expext him to say anything near as incriminating as what he did.

"He has Descole's mask."

* * *

Desmond sat on the floor, his head gripped by his hands. The goal that he had been working for his whole life to achieve was finally in sight; and now some child meant that he risked losing it all.

It was times like this when the man would resort to his Descole persona to turn his despair into anger and revenge. This time, however, he was in no position to be able to do so without the truth coming out and ruining everything. Everything had to be held inside.

To begin with, he only intended to operate as Sycamore to fool Layton into trusting him, but with each day that he spent as Sycamore, the more he missed the happiness and calm that came along with it. Helping the people that they met along the way made him feel good about himself in a way that he hadn't felt in years.

Except being calm and rational wouldn't get him the satisfying revenge that he needed. He couldn't stop now just for the sake of other people. Descole clenched his fist tightly. He needed hatred to fuel his anger, because Targent were going to pay for what they did to him and his family - without question.

Descole gave a low growl. Tearing his glasses off his face, he hurled them across the room. His breathing became erratic. He was not Desmond Sycamore, and after everything that had happened he never could be - the man should have died with the rest of his family years ago.

He watched as the glasses flew, knocking over the off-balance mirror on top of the chest of drawers. The glasses fell underneath and while they only got cracked, the mirror was completely shattered.

Sycamore's eyes widened and his breathing gradually slowed as his sudden outburst of anger faded. He noticed that the rain had been reduced to just a spot. The man covered his hand over his forehead, his normally tidy hair falling slightly out of place. He leaned forward onto the bed, slipping his hand down to cover his eyes as he began to sob quietly.

* * *

Emmy looked at Luke with concern. "His mask?" she whispered in disbelief, not wanting to speak loudly unless he heard. "How did you find it, Luke?"

"I heard him talking but when I looked in nobody was in there. So I went in." He began, meeting Emmy's hushed tone. "When he noticed me he dropped something - the mask. I ran over to help pick it up for him but then he went really strange. And then I realised that he was Descole."

"And then you attacked him?" she confirmed.

"...yes." Luke said bowing his head, feeling a little ashamed for doing something so ungentlemanly. "He obviously isn't the famous Professor Sycamore so I was trying to get the disguise off - except before I could even attempt to he pushed me."

"He did what?" She said, trying her hardest not to raise her voice in annoyance. "Right, I'm going to tell the professor about this tomorrow." Emmy knew that telling Layton would hopefully put a stop to Descole's plans to try and beat Targent to unlocking the Azran legacy. Uncle Leon had told her about how the man wanted to destroy Targent single-handedly, but by figuring out his disguise this early they could get him out of the way for good.

"Tomorrow? Why not now?" Luke asked, trying to hide a yawn. The thought of having to sleep with Descole around, he had to admit, was a little frightening considering what the man had done in the past. While "Sycamore" hadn't shown any bad intentions, Luke knew that it was only a matter of time before he did something. "It is not like I am going to be able to sleep, Emmy. Not now I know that he is Descole."

The woman sighed, then had a look around the room to see if she could find something to take the boy's mind off things. She came back with a record to play on the gramophone in the room.

Upon hearing the music, Luke seemed to relax almost instantly and with Layton being a deep sleeper and nobody in the room nextdoor, there was no need to worry about it being too loud.

"Thank you, Emmy." Luke said sleepily.

"No problem."

The pair didn't hear the smashing of glass in the room further down the corridor.

* * *

" _Don't you listen to him, Aurora! He is a traitor!"_

The words repeated themselves over and over in her head. Professor Sycamore seemed like such a nice man - he cared for her like a father and not once had shown any signs of being the "traitor" Luke described him as - yet why was she more inclined to believe Luke over him?

Aurora curled up on her bed as she went through what happened: Luke attacking the professor, the professor shoving Luke back. Everything after that seemed like a blur. Why did humans have to feel anger? All the emotion did was tear things apart. Knowing that she would never sleep with this on her mind, Aurora decided to see if Luke was okay. She had a feeling that the boy was also unable to sleep after what had happened.

She slipped out of bed, once again, and put on her slippers. As she did so, she heard a smashing of glass coming from the room right in front of hers - professor Sycamore's room. Startled, Aurora rushed out of her room.

In the corridor, she saw Raymond, who had also rushed out upon hearing the noise. The two glanced at each other then, without conversing, pushed open the door to the room.

"Master? Master, what has happened?"

* * *

 **Sorry for all of the switching between characters. I felt like it was needed to cover how everyone felt about the situation. Hope that you are all enjoying :)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Master? Master, what has happened?" Raymond called out.

Aurora whimpered slightly - directly in front of her a mirror had been smashed, and underneath the broken pieces lay Sycamore's glasses. The breakage somehow shocked Aurora, like a sign of hostility. *Maybe what Luke said really was true...*

And then she saw Professor Sycamore.

The man's hair which, had been dragged onto his face, was tangled in his quivering hands. Upon hearing Raymond, the professor looked up. His eyes looked red, puffy and sore, but Aurora felt certain that was something else she could see in them too: sadness, regret and a pleading for help.

"Master...?" Raymond repeated, his voice softening. Unlike Aurora, the man didn't seem very surprised by the situation - maybe this was a common ocurence for the man.

Desmond looked at both of them, he could see the concern on their faces. He shook his head slightly before putting his face back into his hand, exhaling professor lifted his other hand and motioned for them to leave. Aurora looked at Raymond - he also seemed reluctant to go and leave the man in such a state.

"Please..." Sycamore said, his voice wavering. He felt like he had lost sight of what he wanted to do in the first place - back when he was a trembling little twelve-year-old: keeping his little brother safe. Now Targent was on to them there was no guarantee of Layton's safety. It felt as if everyone he had loved had been taken from him - first his parents, then his wife and daughter, soon it would be Layton - and it would be his fault.

He shut his eyes tightly. It was too late for him to back out now. Targent knew about Layton, so even if he were to tell him that he wanted to work alone again, he would still be under the threat of the corrupt organisation. There was no option: he'd just have to use Layton like a tool used for his revenge, just like he - no, Descole - wanted.

*Except it was him. Despite trying to separate the two personas, Desmond Sycamore had turned into Descole.*

The professor looked up, his eyes dried but still red. "Why are you still standing here?" he hissed between grit teeth.

Aurora flinched and stepped back behind Raymond warily - she couldn't help but notice that what he said wasn't matching up with how he appeared. He seemed so... *overwhelmed*. But by what? His own mind?* She bowed her head and tried not to watch in case her eye contact inadvertently worked him up even more.

Raymond took a step forward as Aurora took some back. "Master?" His voice was calm and direct in the hope of getting his master to become more at peace.

"Raymond!" the man snapped back. He was looking down and appeared to have started crying again. "Do as I say, will you? And leave me alone."

"Let's do as he wants." Raymond whispered to Aurora before leading her out of the room and closing the door gently. While the man's harsh words were like Descole's, his actions were not, and Raymond knew that Desmond must have been reminded about something in Mossinia. "I'm sorry about him." The Scotsman said to Aurora, his voice still hushed. "He has had a lot of... stress, lately. He hasn't said anything unusual to you has he?"

Aurora looked up to stare the man directly in the eyes, her large eyes looking almost void of emotion. "Unusual?" she repeated, "No, I don't think so."

"Nothing at all? Not about when he was younger?" Raymond asked in a controlled tone. He focused on the far end of the corridor, finding the girl's curious but at the same time emotionless eyes were making him feel a little uncomfortable.

Aurora blinked slowly to give herself time to think. She was unaware that her not doing so tended to make humans unsettled - to her she was doing a great job of being like one.

"He mentioned a daughter." The Azran girl answered calmly. "Is that true?"

Raymond closed his weary eyes and nodded. He had guessed that it was a memory of his daughter that had triggered this - it usually was. "I will speak to him." he concluded.

Aurora guessed that she was meant to return to her room, but instead made her way to Luke's like she was going to to begin with. She still didn't know how to feel about everything. *Was Professor Sycamore really that bad? Or was he just angry?*

* * *

Raymond pushed open the door, glad to see that the man hadn't broken anything else in the time that he had been away for. "Desmond? ...Master." The air was tense as he awaited a response.

The man stood up and turned to face Raymond, his face a picture of desolation. He let out a large sigh, drying off his damp eyes. "I"m sorry." he paused, "I didn't scare Aurora, did I?"

The shorter man reached out a hand to rest on Desmond's shoulder. "No need to appologise, Master." He said with a reassuring smile. "As for the girl, however, I don't know."

The professor looked down and took off his jacket, throwing it over a chair, then turned back to Raymond.

"Was it about S- I mean, about your daughter?" The butler asked after a few seconds. He knew that saying his daughter's name was enough to upset the man again, and stopped himself from saying it.

"It always is..." Sycamore replied solemnly. "Amongst other things."

"Other things?" Asked the butler in confusion, the only other thing he could think of was his wife, but it sounded like there was something more.

"It's Layton." He began. "I feel like I shouldn't keep lying to him." He moved his fingertips to the side of his face and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"But won"t that ruin your plan, Master?" Raymond sighed internally - while he didn't always agree with the crazy ideas that Descole came up with, he had promised to always suport them.

Desmond shook his head. "No, it isn't that..." The man took a deep intake of breath. "Remember I told you I had a brother?"

* * *

Quick apology for this chapter taking longer than others. Also, if you spot any errors (spelling, grammar, anything) please mention it so I can edit it.


	5. Chapter 5

"No, it isn't that..." The man took a deep intake of breath. "Remember I told you I had a brother?"

The butler stared back in disbelief, he knew what was coming. He never understood why his master wanted rid of Layton so much - now he understood the matter even less. Every time he had spoken of his brother - Theodore was his name - Desmond had spoken so fondly of him. He knew that his master wasn't quite sane, but this seemed too absurd even for him.

Desmond could tell that Raymond had worked out what he was about to say. "Yes, it is as it sounds." he exhaled slowly. "Layton is..." his words trailed off, but the man continued to stare blankly.

"But master! You - I mean, Descole - tried to kill him!" The butler retorted, not meaning to reveal his shock so directly - he had done this once before to Descole, and that had resulted in him receiving a terrifyingly-worded threat about cutting his tongue out. While as Desmond this was unlikely, considering how unstable the man had been lately, anything could be possible. Raymond bowed his head, hiding the slight fear that was showing in his eyes. "Sorry master. Please, ignore me." he apologised, quickly.

Everything seemed to pause for a moment. The professor noticed the return of the pattering on the windows, the drizzle of rain that made the entire ship cold.

Then Sycamore shook his head, "No, you're right." he answered calmly. He was able to ignore the urge to lash out with his words. "It is just, sometimes I feel as if my reasoning goes out of the window when I get angry. I never intended to hurt anyone... That would just make me like one of them."

Raymond stood with his hands behind his back. He had heard this little speech many times before, but he listened as if it were the first. The words seemed to be filled with a new meaning.

"All I see is revenge when I'm... like _that_. " Desmond glanced up for a moment, his eyes wide and filled with sadness. "Layton... he never deserved any of this. He has grown into a good man."

Remaining silent, Raymond watched as his master walked over to crouch next to where the mirror had shattered. "Master, I can clear that for you."

The professor gently pulled out his glasses from under the pile of glass shards. The glass and the rims were scratched and part of the glass on the right cracked all of the way across. "It is a good thing that I don't really need these." he said with an unconvincing laugh which was soon followed by a sigh. It was nearing half past five and he was exhausted. "Perhaps I should try to return to sleep, I feel knackered."

The butler nodded and began to make his way to the door. At least now Desmond was too tired to get all worked up again.

"Wait!" The professor's voice was in a much more urgent tone - but not in an upset way.

Raymond turned around.

"No. It doesn't matter. " He murmured, trying to hold in a yawn. "Thank you." He gave Raymond a smile, he was so grateful for having the man - he doubted he would still be alive without him.

The butler bowed and left the room.

Desmond was about to ask for advice about what he should do in the morning - when he was most likely going to be confronted by Layton - but he decided against it. He would come up with something himself when the time came, right now he just wanted to sleep and forget about it all - even if it was just for an hour or two.

* * *

Calming music filled the end room of the Bostonius. Emmy had promised to stay with Luke until he felt like he could get back to sleep on his own, and while the boy had his eyes shut, she knew that if she were to leave now he would notice and call her back.

She leaned back in the chair, reflecting somewhat tentatively on her mission. Tomorrow they would surely find the last of the aura stones, and the most important part her mission would begin. She knew she was not ready for what was to come, but also knew that it was too late to back out.

At the same time, she thought, there had to be a way to use the situation with Sycamore to her advantage. She knew that Descole also needed the five aura stones - just like Targent did - and if he were found out, he would almost certainly flee with them all. Uncle Leon would never forgive her if she let that happen after all of their hard work.

Emmy stood up and walked over to stop the music before crouching next to Luke's bed as she had been earlier. "Luke?" She whispered, already feeling guilty just from talking to him and knowing what was to come.

Half-opening his eyes, Luke grunted out a sleepy sound. "Huh?"

"Luke, we can't tell the professor about Descole." Emmy said quietly. "If we do there's a chance that he will escape with the eggs." She had got it all planned out in her head now: they would get the last egg and on the way back to the Bostonius she would run ahead, giving her the time to replace one with a fake while nobody else was there. Then they would tell Layton about 'Sycamore'. That way even if Descole managed to flee, he wouldn't have all of them and could complete nothing.

Luke hummed a response, pulling his duvet up around his lower face.

"Luke?" Emmy repeated, sternly raising her voice. She had to know that the boy understood what to do.

His eyes opened quickly, startled by the sudden change in tone. "I won't say a thing. We can't let him win!"

Emmy smiled and nodded. "That's what I want to hear!"

In any other situation she might have laughed or teased the boy about his reaction, but right now, she felt as if it would be wrong to act like the older sister that she had done before. Everything felt so much more real now. As Emmy went to leave the room, Aurora walked in. Luke's eyes widened as he noticed her and he scrambled to sit up. "N-Night Emmy." He said quickly, but the girl had (unusually) already left the room.

"Luke..." Aurora began, standing next to his bed. "I-I am a little scared. I am not sure what to think anymore."

"It will all be fine. Emmy has a plan." He said, trying to put on a brave face. In reality, the boy was also feeling anxious. Luke quietened his voice. "We can't mention anything to Professor Layton just yet, but that is only so Descole doesn't escape with all of the eggs!"

Aurora nodded but then looked down slowly. "I... I feel that I am unable to believe that Professor Sycamore could be a bad person."

"Did you not see how he acted when I found the mask?" Luke said, gritting his teeth with determination. "He is hiding something!"

The boy's face dropped, noticing the pity of Aurora's face. He desperately wanted to think of something to help her feel better.

"I think that we have already met the real Sycamore. But Descole must have switched places with him during our travels and hidden him somewhere." He said, thinking back to the other times that the man had been around them without them realising it. "He did that to Doland, our family's butler - and Angela."

Aurora gasped. She had really grown attatched to Professor Sycamore and this gave her a little bit of hope.


	6. Chapter 6

"Good morning," Layton said, sitting down at the breakfast table with a cup of tea and a newspaper. "Luke, Emmy, Aurora, Professor- oh." He stopped, noticing that Sycamore wasn't wearing his glasses. It was very rare to see the man without them on - in fact, this was the first time. "It is very unusual to see you without your glasses, professor." Layton said. _What was it with those eyes?_ He thought. _There was something about them..._

"A-Ah, yes..." Sycamore choked out. Prior to Layton entering he hadn't spoken to anyone since he had awoken. "I ah- managed to break them this morning, I don't think that I was fully awake when I attempted to put them on." He said with a slight chuckle.

"Mm? Ah, right..." Layton responded. While it seemed rather odd, he had no reason to question what the man had said - yet. "So, did everyone sleep well?" He asked politely, as he opened the paper to a news story in the middle. It was met with a rather awkward silence.

Emmy quickly turned to Aurora to make sure that the Azran girl said nothing, while Luke continued to slurp up his bowl of cereal as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Emmy coughed, looking directly at Sycamore, as a cue for him to answer Layton's question. He looked back that he had no choice but to so himself. "Well, I can't say it was the best night's sleep I've ever had." he said uncomfortably, taking a sip of his tea. As he looked over the brim of the cup, he noticed Luke's gaze on him. He was surprised that the boy - or Emmy, or Aurora - hadn't mentioned anything about the events that took place earlier in the morning. "I think it was the rain that kept me awake. I must have forgotten to close my window properly." He added on quickly, covering his mouth.

He was feeling rather annoyed at the state he had got himself into while the other man was asleep. Right now he needed to be focusing on his own goal, and he was not going to let self-pity stand in the way of it.

Layton lay his newspaper down on the table, and the accusing stares stopped instantly. "That's a pity." _The poor man must have had an awful nights sleep judging from his tired eyes and edgy manner._ "Personally I found that I had a very comfortable night."

Emmy stood up and put her empty bowl on the side. "Well at least one of us did." she said with a laugh, speaking in her usual cheery tone to minimise the suspicion. She found it was much easier to do this to the professor than to Luke.

"Oh, you didn't sleep well either Emmy?" Layton said, beginning to realise that he was a heavier sleeper than he first thought. The woman nodded.

"The rain keeping you up too, hm?" Sycamore asked, clasping his hands and regaining the ability to talk naturally.

The woman folded her arms from behind Layton and narrowed her eyes at the other professor. "Yes, the _rain_ was very loud last night. Very... _uncharacteristic_ for this time of year." She said, choosing her words carefully to work up 'Sycamore' without Layton noticing.

The man huffed at her comment and went to adjust his glasses but then remembered that he had broken them, and instead moved his hand down to his tie. "So shall we get going then? We agreed to meet with Umid at half past."He wasn't sure what Emmy was trying to achieve, but if she wasn't planning on doing something she would have told Layton by now. Unless, that is, Layton already knew and was pretending to be oblivious like he did in Monte Dor. Either way, Desmond decided that it would be a good idea to keep an extra close watch on her just in case. He knew that Luke had told her everything.

* * *

"Oh, are these your friends coming this way?"

Umid turned around. "Ah yes, this is them, here." he said, greeting the group with a smile.

"I should leave you to it then." The girl said. "Best of luck."

"Another friend of yours, Umid?" Sycamore said as the girl walked off, her straight, ashy blond hair swaying in the wind. The boy just grinned meekly.

"It doesn't look like anything's changed since last time." Umid said. They had all been expecting the gate to have changed in some way; evidently this was not the case.

"Some change undoubtedly occurred. If we open the gate as the inscriptions tell us to, perhaps all will become clear."

Layton stepped forward to solve the puzzle on the gate. Soon after he had solved it, there was a rumbling and as the gate opened, water gushed out and flowed into the town.

The group followed the river down to the hill, which now had a passageway that led inside.

"The water's flowed all the way down here!" Luke said in awe as he followed the others into the hill. Until now, the boy hadn't thought much about what had happened with Sycamore - despite the fact that he was so worried about it earlier. He just followed along, knowing that Emmy knew what she was doing and wouldn't let them get hurt.

* * *

"Well we have solved the mystery of the sleeping illness and made an incredible discovery. But we are still no closer to finding the egg..." Desmond said after helping Umid's mother wake up.

Emmy gave Sycamore a look of suspicion. She could not quite tell what it was, but since Luke had pointed him out as Descole, every time he spoke about the Azran there was something he would do that would just remind her of the masked man. She was almost certain that it was him.

Just then, Mehri burst into the room.

"Ah! Here you are - I thought you'd be here with Umid. "

"Hello again... Mehri was it?" Layton said with a smile to the girl.

"Yep! I told Gran about what you did, and she wants to give you our phoenix egg." The girl giggled. "What is she like?"

"That's the egg you were looking for, isn't it?" Umid added. "Go on, the Keeper should be waiting for you at the temple."

On the way up to the temple, Emmy stopped. It was time to put her plan into action.

"Hey professor, look at this!" She said, pointing to a large yellow flower. Both professors went over to have a look. "I need to take a photo of this." The woman reached for where she normally kept her camera - but it wasn't there. She continued to feel around to make the point that she had lost it before telling them: "I think I left it in the Bostonius."

Both Layton Sycamore detected the slight exaggeration in Emmy's actions, but while Layton thought it was for comedic effect, Sycamore grew suspicious - it seemed planned.

"I'm just going to pop back and get it if that is okay - you can all carry on without me." She said, starting to walk back.

"I will come with you, Emmy." Sycamore offered, even though he knew she would decline the offer.

"It isn't that far - I can manage, professor!" She called over her shoulder, continuing to walk.

"It should be fine." Layton said reassuringly. "She is very capable."

* * *

Sorry that not too much happened in this chapter, I just needed something to join bits together since I felt like skipping until they had been told about the egg was too big a leap forward.


	7. Chapter 7

"It should be fine." Layton said reassuringly with a smile. "She is very capable."

"Of course." Sycamore replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice. _What was she playing at?_ He needed to get up there to see what she was doing because it didn't seem at all right - nor did it seem like it would be very good for him in the long run.

As they continued walking, Luke began to frown at Desmond. The man's act was very good - but then it would have had to have been for him to have impersonated Doland for so long. He was almost certain that Layton had picked up on the aggro between him and Emmy, but was unsure why he hadn't said anything - maybe he had worked it out himself and was waiting for the perfect moment to mention it.

When Sycamore finally looked back at Luke, the boy's frown turned into a scowl. He wanted to let the man know that he hadn't forgotten what had happened, and that he had best be wary. The professor would never lose to him.

* * *

As soon as she couldn't see the rest of the group, Emmy began to run back to the Bostonius - she needed all the time she could get.

As she entered the main room, she noticed that Raymond was sitting upright, asleep alongside Keats - as long as he didn't wake, she would be able to make the switch with no trouble at all. Regardless, she couldn't help but feel uneasy about what she was going to do. She knew that the professor was surely going to find out who and what she was soon enough, so she just had to get on with it.

Once she had retrieved the fake egg (and her camera) from her own room, she checked on Raymond. The man had slumped to the side slightly, but was still asleep. She had to wonder whether the man knew of Descole and his antics, but decided that was a question best asked _after_ she had made the swap. The quiet man didn't seem like he would be the best liar - unlike Sycamore - so he would be ideal to interrogate.

 _Now where would Descole hide some valuable artefacts?_ That was the next job.

This was going to be easier said than done - his study area in the corner of his room was immaculately tidy, but there were shelves and drawers everywhere. She knew that the man was very protective over his workspace, perhaps it was because he had something to hide. Emmy opened one of the drawers, inside were at least a dozen fragments of a teal-coloured stone. She recognised it immediately as an Azran artifact from the colour, and this was confirmed by the documents and books underneath.

Closing the drawer, she opened the next one up. Inside was another stone of the same colour, however this one was not broken. The stone had patterns on it identical to that of her fake egg - she hadn't expected her search for a stone to be this easy!

Just as she was making the swich, she caught a glimpse of the notes underneath. She picked it up and began to read through - maybe it would be of use to Targent in some way.

* * *

Meanwhile, the rest of the group had just reached the temple. While the walk wasn't long, there was so many interesting things to see on the way there they couldn't help but keep stopping.

"I wonder if Emmy is okay..." Aurora said quietly. The Azran girl had been even more silent than usual today, not speaking at all other than to translate things so when she spoke, everyone stopped and turned to her.

"She should be. Although surely it shouldn't take so long to pick up a camera... I wonder if something has happened." Layton answered.

Sycamore went to push back the glasses that he wasn't wearing. "Hm, I moved her camera last night, maybe she hasn't found it yet." He lied. He needed an excuse to find out what she was doing. "I will go and check up on her."

Layton nodded and, as the man walked off, covered his mouth as he normally did when he was thinking. He hadn't thought much of the behaviour of Emmy or Sycamore to begin with, but now he was starting to see that they had both been showing signs of discord. They had both been left awake last night, and from Emmy's subtle attitude change and the professor's broken glasses, Layton could tell that something had happened that neither were letting on.

Layton looked up. "Luke, my boy, did you hear anything at all last night? Was anyone awake and walking around?"

Luke put his hands behind his back and glanced at Aurora nervously. 'Sycamore' wasn't here, so the last Azran egg was safe - this meant that it was also safe to tell Layton what had happened.

The boy feared that the professor would be angry at him for hearing about what he did, but he couldn't lie. While he had hoped that Emmy would be here to explain what happened, it looked like he would have to do it himself.

* * *

It was a good thing that Emmy had read the notes in the last drawer - the egg that she thought she had found was only a replica. Thinking about it, it made more sense that it was since it was in a drawer of its own.

What she found in the next drawer down, however, was interesting to say the least.

Newspaper articles. A lot of them.

Emmy's eyes scanned one of the articles. It was about Layton's discovery of the Golden Garden in Misthallery.

She frowned. _Why would he be keeping an article about Layton?_

She picked up another. This one was about the island of Ambrosia and, yet again, Layton's work there.

And there were more.

She recalled him mentioning that he had followed Layton's career with interest - but this? He was practically stalking the man! _Why did it matter so much what Layton did? He had witnessed all of these events himself, anyway!_

Emmy had rumaged through at least half of the drawers with no success whatsoever. Despite her determination, her fruitless search was beginning to drag her mind back to her betrayal. She could see it: Layton's dissappointment and Luke's upset. They would both hate her.

Emmy took a few steps back from the desk. The thoughts made her feel sick, and yet she had no choice but to make these horrible thoughts into realities. There was always a chance that they would forgive her, wasn't there? She sighed, she had to keep looking - they would be back soon, and this may be her last opportunity to get hold of an egg.

* * *

Walking back to the Bostonius, Sycamore could tell that he would be the topic of conversation between Layton and Luke. He had to say, he was surprised that the young boy hadn't blurted anything out yet. The boy had a tendancy to speak out of turn, and the fact that he hadn't done so yet made Sycamore all the more worried about what Emmy was planning - what exactly had she told the child?

When he got to the airship, he noticed that the door was left slightly ajar - Emmy was definitely in there, if the man had learnt anything about her from their trip around the world it was that she was incapable of shutting doors properly. Admittedly, having it open proved helpful, he could sneak up on the woman that way.

In the main living area, Raymond was asleep with Keats sitting next to him. Before he checked on Emmy, Desmond decided he needed to do something first.

The man shooed Keats away, waking up Raymond. "Raymond!" He hissed quietly, "Do not let that cat onto the setee - or on any other piece of furniture for that matter. Okay?"

"Y-yes, sorry master." the man appologised.

* * *

 _What was that?_ She was sure that she had just heard Raymond speak, and by the use of 'master' that meant that Sycamore was back.

She looked around the room, she hadn't bothered to tidy up anything as she went along. Scraps of paper, rocks and other artefacts were strewn across the floor. She had to clear up the mess she had made before he saw her.

Her first job was to remove of the artefacts that had somehow accumulated around her. She swept them all into a pile and pulled open a drawer to tip it all in - he would know someone had been in there, but at least it got rid of it quickly.

A book that must have been stood up vertically in the drawer fell over. Emmy winced at the noise, but then noticed something.

 _Was that..? Tucked away at the back of the drawer?_ While she was surprised that it wasn't hidden better, it was still the incriminating piece of evidence that confirmed Sycamore wasn't who he said he was - the mask.

* * *

"L-Luke." was the professor's stunned response when the boy told him what had happened in the early morning. He didn't know whether he should scold thr boy for being ungentlemanly or praise him for figuring it out before he could himself. "Luke, we need to get this egg and return back to the Bostonius quickly."

"O-okay, professor." Luke said, surprised that he hadn't been told off and jogged along after him. "Why do we need to go back so urgently?"

"I fear for Emmy's safety, Luke." He stated.


	8. Chapter 8

"I fear for Emmy's safety, Luke." He stated grimly, holding onto the front of his hat. "We both know what Descole is capable of, and if it is him that has been with us all of this time..."

Luke looked shocked - after all, this was partly his fault - but then gave a determined nod and turned back to Aurora. The girl's worry was showing on her face.

"Come on Aurora! We have to get back and help Emmy!" Luke said, waiting for her as Layton continued on into the temple. The Azran girl walked over ever so gracefully, and Luke couldn't help but smile a little as he watched her approach. The second she spoke, however, he snapped back into reality.

"Who is Descole?" She asked curiously. Her voice was so serene.

"We don't really know..." Luke began, walking side-by-side with the girl into the temple. "It started off when I asked the professor to investigate my old home town, Misthallery. Ever since we found out that he was the one destroying things with machines, he left, but we have kept meeting him ever since." the boy explained. "He even tried to kill the professor!"

Aurora let out a small gasp - now she was even less willing to believe that he and Professor Sycamore were the same person - Sycamore was simply too kind to be capable of attempting to kill another human being. She was about to ask more until Layton called her over.

"The legend says that 'When the celestial messenger descends, return the phoenix egg to her, she may bring light to the skies anew' and I believe that messenger to be you, my dear, so this is yours." The elderly woman said, reciting the words of the legend from memory before handing Aurora the final egg.

"Thank you..." She answered, taking the slightly warm stone. As she held it, she could feel her memories begin to trickle back.

* * *

Keeping hold of the mask for use as evidence, Emmy yanked open another of the drawers to put the remaining pieces of paperwork away. Inside this drawer, however, was what she had been looking for this whole time.

Five azran eggs, each engraved with the same peculiar pattern.

She shoved in the papers first to get them out of the way - by the time the Sycamore (or rather, Descole) came to look inside his desk, she thought, he would surely know that someone had been in there from how disorganised it had been left, but she couldn't worry about that. From the outside it looked exactly as it was when she came in and there was nothing else left to tidy up from the floor around her. The second she made the swap she could leave the room - hopefully Sycamore hadn't heard her yet.

* * *

"Thank you." The professor tipped his hat to the elderdly lady. He turned to Luke and Aurora. "Right, now we'd best get back to the Bostonius. We have already taken longer than we should have."

The group made haste, taking the quickest route back - hopefully no one else in the town would need their assistance.

"I do hope Emmy will be all right." Luke said fearfully as they made their way back. While she always mocked and scared him, the boy had become very fond of her company. It was like she was the older sister that he never had.

"I hope so too, my boy." Layton answered. "Whilst I say that she could hold her own against him in a fight, I worry that he may have something planned himself - there must have been a reason for him to go back."

* * *

"Keep your voice down!" Sycamore whispered to Raymond. "Have you seen or heard Emmy come back here?"

The butler shook his head. "I was alseep, I'm sorry master."

A noise came from the corridor.

"Aha! She is here." Sycamore said, beckoning Raymond to follow him as he moved towards the rooms.

The man pushed on the door hesitantly to begin with, but then walked straight in when there was no noise or response - it was empty.

"Nothing has moved since I checked over the ship an hour ago." Raymond stated, noticing Sycamore's confused expression. "Although I do remember seeing a camera on the side over there."

The professor was about to question where the woman was until a clatter came from his own room, accompanied by a loud intake of breath. "What on Earth?"

* * *

Emmy's hands shook as she fumbled with the Azran eggs. She threw the fake egg into the drawer and took a real one, then quickly pushed the door shut. She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she realised that she had pushed the desk a little too hard in her attempt to finish things off quicker. Pens rolled off one of the shelves of the desk one by one, clattering as they fell. She let out a gasp - if Sycamore heard this, it was game over.

She wasn't going to risk making more noise by putting them back on the desk, so instead put them into the pokets of one of Sycamore's jackets. There was nothing left to move now, and nothing left to tidy. That was it. She was done.

She exhaled, and leaned back onto the leg of the chair. Her heart was pounding furiously and her sweaty palms surely hadn't helped with her job, but at least it was over now. The thought helped her regain her composure and she stood upright, but as she did the stolen Azran egg fell out of her pocket and rolled across the floor - right as Sycamore entered the room.

"Emmy? What do you think you're doing?"


	9. Chapter 9

"Emmy? What do you think you're doing?" He questioned sharply, his brows furrowed. "What gave you the audacity to even _consider_ going into my room, let alone my desk?" His voice was loud, but he did his best not to shout - he couldn't let his emotions wreak havoc again.

Emmy recoiled slightly at the shock of seeing him burst into the room. She couldn't see where the egg had rolled to. To avoid seeming suspicious by looking for the stone, she jumped to her feet confidently. "Why? Too scared I'd find this?" She pulled the mask out of her poket and waved it in front of him. "You can't hide any more. Nor can you deny it."

Sycamore put his hand to his face where his glasses usually were. "I wasn't going to." He answered somewhat smugly. He knew that she would pursue Luke's idea further - he knew that this was going to take place sooner or later. He wasn't even angry - even though this would most likely ruin his plan. "Now I will ask you again, what exactly were you doing in my desk?" The man folded his arms, and looked straight at her with unblinking eyes. "Don't tell me you were looking for the mask - you had no reason to believe it was in there, and I don't see any other part of my room looking like a train has hit it."

Opening her mouth to try and argue back, Emmy realised she really had no excuse. _But h_ _ow could he tell that she had been in there? It didn't look any different to her._

As he stepped forward, the professor's foot collided with an egg-shaped object on the floor. He only had to look down to see that this was one of the Azran eggs. He shot a glare at Emmy. She was looking tense, her hands held behind her back. Picking it up without speaking, the man marched towards his desk and opened the drawer that he knew he had been keeping the eggs in.

 _He knows the place well._ Emmy thought as she watched him in apprehension. _Considering the Bostonius belongs to the real Professor Sycamore, Descole seemed to know where everything was kept._

Underneath the piles of notes that Emmy must have stuffed in there, were four eggs. One of them - or the one that he was holding - couldn't be real. He opened the drawer where the replica was kept to see that it was still in there.

Somehow the woman had got hold of a fake egg.

Perhaps she was playing a trick. She could have easily got a 'popoño' custom-made in San Grio to look like the real thing (for some reason, the ones being sold had a tendancy to have faces on them). He looked back at her. He didn't think this was a trick. From her manner and overly-innocent look, he could tell that she had been up to something that she shouldn't have been.

* * *

As Layton, Luke and Aurora got closer to the Bostonius, they were stopped again - this time by Umid.

"Hello again - I was just looking for you." He greeted. The boy's spirits had really been lifted by having his mother awake again. "My mum says that you should come over for something to eat later as a thank you." He paused and scratched the back of his head awkwardly but spoke with a friendly smile. "It won't have any of them Dormis Soporis mushrooms in either - oh, and you can bring the other two around as well. Professor Sycamore and what was the lady's name? Emmy?"

Luke's eyes lit up at the upon hearing about free food.

"Thank you for the invite, Umid." Layton began, and Luke stared up hopefully. "But I'm afraid we won't be able to take you up on it." The boy in blue looked down and folded his arms stroppily.

"Oh, that's a shame. That's fine if you can't come, though." Umid answered understandingly. "But if you can do then please come around, we just want to thank you for what you have done."

"We were happy to help you all." The professor said with a smile. "We wish you all the best. Perhaps we shall see you again sometime." he said, before continuing to walk again.

"But Professor! Can't we at least _try_ to go?" Luke whined. It was his stomach talking again.

"Now Luke, I think we have more important things to worry about first, don't you?" Layton stated, and the trio continued walking. They were only a minute or two away from the Bostonius now.

* * *

Alarm bells were ringing in his head, the only thing he could think of was that this is something Targent would do - it was the only thing that made sense. Except Layton was a smart man, surely if that was the case he would have found out that his assistant was a Targent mole by now - would he not?

"Emmy, is there something you haven't been telling us?" Sycamore said, holding out an egg. "Because I have reason to believe that you are part of Targent." His voice grew hoarser as he spoke, and Emmy recognised this as Descole's voice.

She scowled and began to tremble ever so slightly, causing her fingers to loose grip on the mask. Whether she admitted to it or not, the man was likely to do something. His hatred for Targent was strong - even as his disguise. As Descole it would surely be amplified. Emmy hated to admit it to herself, but she was terrified - not just of because of what he might do, but also what the Professor and Luke would think.

Sycamore retrieved the mask off the floor and pushed it onto his face with a smirk. Next came the hat and cape simultaneously which seemed to appear out of thin air.

Emmy looked astonished. Professor Sycamore was never Descole in a disguise - Descole was Sycamore in a disguise.

"So what is it then? Are you going to tell me now or will I need to force it out of you?" He said, grabbing one of the swords that decorated his wall and holding it up in front of himself to admire.

Both gasped, with Raymond also letting out a shocked "Master!".

Descole whipped around to stare directly at the butler. "Raymond." he said in a warning tone before turning his attention back to Emmy. The butler scuttled off somewhere, not wanting to watch the events unfold. Descole lowered the tip of his sword until it was in line with the woman. "Tell me. Are you or are you not working for that detestable organisation?"

When she failed to answer, the man took a step closer. He knew from her reaction that the answer to his question was a yes, but he'd much rather hear her say it out loud - maybe just in time for Layton to hear it would be good.

She needed something to hold him back with but there was nothing in reach except for a chair - that would have to do. Emmy ducked to the right and when the sword followed her she ducked to the left, grabbing the chair by the back to push the man backwards.

Stumbling backwards, Descole growled in annoyance. He lunged forward with his sword but Emmy managed to deflect the attack with the chair. He lunged forward once again and this time, the woman wasn't as quick to act. She was backed into a corner now, and Descole wasn't prepared to let her leave without an answer.

* * *

Finally arriving at the Bostonius, the group rushed up the stairs leading in. They were greeted immediately by a distressed-looking Raymond. The butler was unsure if he should tell Layton about the situation - his master would surely be furious if he said the wrong thing - so instead, he stayed quiet and continued to pace backwards and forwards.

Worried by Raymond's behaviour, they all went into the hallway where they could hear two angry voices.

* * *

In the breif silence between them speaking, Descole heard the door to the Bostonius close - that would be Layton arriving.

"You are only making this more difficult for yourself." Descole said, his sword practically resting on her - if either one of them moved then Emmy could end up in a lot of pain.

"You already know!" She shouted back quickly, her voice weakening. When she spoke again, however, her voice was as strong and determined as usual. "So why do you want me to say it out loud?"

There was a silence. Layton, Luke and Aurora stood on edge behind the door, waiting for the response.

"So that Layton can hear."


	10. Chapter 10

"So that Layton can hear." Descole said spitefully.

At that moment Layton, who was only intending on listening outside, decided that he needed to interfere. "So that I can hear what, Descole?" Layton said immediately, bursting into the room the second he heard the man's comment. Luke must have been correct - Professor Sycamore was nowhere to be seen and Descole had replaced him.

Aurora followed in too, but shrank back when she saw the man with a sword in his hand. Was it really this man who had been with them the whole time? How could a violent man adopt the persona of someone so calm for so long and then suddenly change back?

"Ah, Layton!" The masked man welcomed with exaggerated glee. "Just in time, your assistant here has something to tell you."

Emmy looked guiltily at the professor, and he looked back with concern. How could she admit that she was never really there to be his assistant? That the reason for her going along with him was because she was a Targent spy? The young woman bit her lip nervously.

Seeing that Emmy wasn't going to answer, Descole stepped forwards. He swept back his cape to lift his left arm to his feather boa. "Not going to tell them? That's okay, _I'll_ do-"

"Shut up Descole!" Luke interrupted, pushing past Layton to stand right in front of the man. When he saw the sword in his hand he backed away a few steps. "I'll never believe anything you say again!" he said as he walked backwards before bumping into Layton. The professor gave Luke a scolding look but remained silent.

"Hmph. Be that way then." The man in the mask said to the boy. Then he turned to the professor. "But I'm sure Layton would want to hear what I have to say."

Layton squinted his eyes. "I'd much rather hear it from Emmy herself." He said, knowing that Descole would likely twist the truth. He had no suspicion as to what it was the two were talking about, but he assumed that it was something serious.

Emmy couldn't avoid it anymore. It was one thing to ignore the requests of Descole, but she couldn't avoid them from Layton. She thought for a moment, surely there was another way of answering so that it didn't seem so bad - after all, Layton wasn't there to know what they were on about.

"It's him! Descole didn't have a disguise - he is the famous Desmond Sycamore." Emmy blurted out, hoping to take the attention off herself.

The other three looked at the man in disbelief. Layton especially was shocked - the archaeologist had been one that the professor looked up to, not to mention the one that Randall idolised when he was younger.

"And your _lovely_ assistant works for Targent." Descole said vengefully, not giving anyone the time to say anything about him. The woman breathed in quickly, she should have expected him to say it the second that she said about him. "She has most likely been spying on you ever since she arrived and reported everything back to Bronev. That is why Targent took control of all of the Azran sites that you investigated." The man's hatred for Targent was evident in the way he spat out his words.

Emmy looked away. _This was it. Layton would hate her for betraying him and Bronev would punish her for not completing her mission._

"Is this true, Emmy?" Layton asked. The man put his hand up onto the rim of his top hat. Surely Descole was mistaken - or at least making it up to take the attention off himself, however the woman's uncharacteristic nervousness suggested that it there could be some truth to it.

The professor felt a tugging at his jacket and looked down to see that Luke was gripping onto it. The boy's expression was one of confusion. "Say it's not true Emmy!" he cried, staring up at the woman. He hadn't even noticed how he was clinging to the professor in his unease, so flinched slightly as he felt Layton's hand land on his shoulder.

Emmy had two options: admit to it now and risk Layton siding with Descole to try to stop Targent, or say that Descole was lying which would make even more difficult if and when she had to act under the orders of her uncle. The woman didn't take the time to think through the real results of each of these, she had to choose one of them and she had to do so quickly - so she chose the easiest way out.

* * *

Meanwhile, Raymond listened in from the hallway.

He worried for his master. This was yet another plan that hadn't gone as intended - and most likely another one that he would have to clean up afterwards.

Raymond had been told the plan beforehand, and Desmond revealing himself as Descole wasn't part of it - or at least not yet or for this reasoning. The small man sighed internally, He cared a lot about his master but sometimes the man needed to make fewer rash decisions.

* * *

"Don't listen to him, professor!" Emmy piped up angrily. "He thinks that he can threaten me into staying quiet but he can't!" The only thing that could disprove what she said was the professor believing Descole over her, and she hoped that wouldn't happen.

" _Liar_!" Was Descole's immediate response. "She was in my desk to switch an Azran egg for a fake one."

"Hey - you're one to talk!" Luke shouted. "All you've done is lie to us!"

Emmy tried to ignore the fact that Luke still believed in her and scowled at Descole. "That was meant to be a joke!" was her only comeback. "Why would _I_ want to steal an Azran egg?"

"You would have reason to if you were working for Targent."

Layton noticed the other man's grip on his sword tighten and pulled Luke back closer to himself. He thought back to what he heard when he first arrived back at the Bostonius - what Emmy had said was quite unusual given what she had just told them. Layton hated to believe Descole over Emmy, but his story was adding up a lot more than hers.

"This is ridiculous!" Emmy huffed. "Professor I-" She stopped herself, seeing that Layton looked like he had something to say. Maybe he had already worked out that she was lying and wanted her to leave immediately. She wouldn't blame him if he felt that way - she had been betraying him ever since she became his assistant.

"Perhaps we ought to leave - Luke, Aurora." The man paused before adding one last name to the list. "Emmy."


	11. Chapter 11

"Perhaps we ought to leave - Luke, Aurora." The man paused before adding one last name to the list. "Emmy." He suspected that Emmy's story wasn't the whole truth, but he wasn't going to say so in front of everyone - especially not Descole. Not only was that ungentlemanly, but would only cause more trouble.

Emmy gave a quiet sigh of relief when she heard her name. She was just glad to not have to explain herself - or rather, glad not to have to lie her way out again. She followed on after the professor and Luke. Thankfully she had been living out of her suitcase ever since she arrived on the Bostonius so she could just pick everything up and leave the place as soon as possible. _The sooner the better._

Aurora was the last to leave the room. Walking through the doorway, she stopped and turned around. While she couldn't see his face, she could sense that the cloaked man was feeling more than just anger. A feeling that somewhere there was a little bit of sadness in him - or maybe that was just her hope. "Professor Sycamore..." she whispered somewhat mournfully, almost inaudible, lowering her head as she too left the room.

Descole stood and watched as they left. He had heard Aurora murmur Sycamore's name - _his name_ \- as she left.

Why? Why did she have to make him question his identity again? After they had cleared, he continued to stare at the door. _There was no hope left for Desmond Sycamore. None whatsoever._

Before he could allow his thoughts to take over his mind completely, Descole slammed the door shut. _Trust Layton to side with Emmy without even questioning what she said,_ he thought. He should have known that Layton would never have taken the side of the man who nearly killed him. He should have known that from the very beginning.

He assumed that Raymond would show Layton out, although to be truthful, the he wasn't really fussed about whether the butler did it or not. Perhaps he should have been.

* * *

Luckily for Layton, Mossinia had a hotel that they could stop at overnight. The walk there was mostly silent. Layton walked at a leisurely pace with Luke at his side, with the boy turning around every now and again to point things out to Aurora: a flock of birds flying, a butterfly settling onto a flower, bees flying from plant to plant . When he turned around to give her a flower, the professor just gave him a supportive smile. Emmy was the one who trailed along at the back behind Aurora. It felt rather lonely.

"Look Aurora! Look at the sunset!" Luke exclaimed, looking out of the window of the hotel room. Aurora - joined by the professor - walked over to look. The gorgeous orange sky was beautiful and calming, and as they watched the clouds drift across the sky, they saw the silhouette of the Bostonius flying off over the horizon.

The sight reminded Layton that he needed to discuss with Emmy what had happened earlier. "I'm just going to speak to Emmy." he informed Luke and Aurora, before leaving. The room that Emmy and Aurora were to be sharing was just opposite Layton and Luke's. The professor gave the door a light knock.

"Emmy?"

Emmy's eyes darted up to the door. She was always slightly on edge after being in contact with her uncle. "Professor?" The woman hesitated a little. "Come in." She called back, her fingers digging into the pillow that sat upright on her lap. She had been dreading this, but had memorised what she was going to say - now she only had to say it.

As he walked in, Emmy noticed that Layton had his serious face on - the one that he always had when he was confronting someone. "Hello," He said calmly, sitting himself down in the armchair in the corner of the room. "We haven't seen you all evening, are you alright?

"I'm fine.." Emmy answered unconvincingly, "I was just thinking about what happened." This would surely lead him to ask about it.

"Emmy, I'd like you to tell me the truth now about what you were doing with the Azran eggs."

Bronev was planning something important right now. Whatever happened, she couldn't get found out. Emmy pulled the pillow closer to her chest. She cared a lot about Layton and Luke but her loyalties lay with her uncle. "I was looking for proof." She answered, adding to the list of the lies that she had told him today. "I knew you'd need evidence and didn't want to say anything without being absolutely sure."

"Mm?" The professor hummed, waiting to see what else she said. This story was adding up a lot more than the other one, and Emmy was a lot less on edge than before. He still didn't quite understand why the young woman was so worried earlier.

"When I found the mask I knew that I needed to take the eggs too - they weren't safe with Descole!" she continued with determination. "I started to gather them but before I could, he came in and found me."

"Hm. That still doesn't explain the fake egg." the professor said, running his hand along the rim of his hat.

"I was just getting to that bit." Emmy assured. "I found two replicas in one of his other drawers, I was going to use them so that I could swap the others."

* * *

"D-Do you think Profes- Descole will try to kidnap me?" Aurora asked. The Azran girl's hand was by her mouth, muffling her speech, and she spoke with evident nervousness. Luke had just explained to her about Ambrosia and how Descole had kidnapped many young women to put memories into and Aurora felt shaken by the very idea. She had shared a home with this man for a few months now, how did she not suspect anything herself?

"No, Emmy won't let anything bad happen to you in the night and neither will I." Luke reassured her. "She isn't a heavy sleeper, unlike the professor, so if anything happens she will be awake to help you."

Aurora gave the boy a smile, and his cheeks flushed pink. "Thank you Luke. You're such a great friend." Of course, until today the same could have been said about Professor Sycamore.


	12. Chapter 12

That night, Aurora snuggled down into bed. A light breeze stroked her cheek as it drifted through the open window - Emmy had said that it was too hot inside the room and so they decided to leave it open for the night. The aura stone that they had retrieved from Mossinia was sat on Aurora's bedside table. The warm aura that it gave off was a comforting sense of familiarity and she knew that so long as she didn't hold onto it, no sudden memories would be triggered. She could sleep in peace.

Emmy tossed in her bed on the opposite side of the room. _Why was it so hot?_ She rolled onto her back, throwing the sheets off onto the floor. Uncle Leon had told her what Targent were planning to do tonight. For some reason, he wanted to lure Layton into The Nest and his way of doing so was going to be by kidnapping Aurora.

The clock ticked to half past 11, they could be there at any moment. Emmy had left the door to their room unlocked to prevent any disturbance, however they'd still have to get in through the main door by force. Nobody was going to be manning the front desk until 4am so the chance of them getting caught was slim.

Emmy waited. She tried to close her eyes but each time she did they somehow found themselves open again. Like everyone else who was aboard the Bostonius, she had formed a friendship with the Azran girl. She didn't want to have to watch Aurora suffer. While she had made a request for the kidnappers to be gentle with her, Emmy couldn't be sure that they would be.

* * *

"Raymond!"

Raymond jumped upon hearing the call. "Y-Yes master?" He should have been accustomed to his master's requests late at night - they were frequent before he had invited Layton aboard - but over the past few months with no calls at all he had forgotten how difficult it was to stay alert for his master when he was so tired. Getting up off the settee, the butler scurried into the master room.

"They've only gone and made off with the last egg." Descole snapped. He couldn't believe that even after knowing about the fake egg, he had mistaken the fake for a real one. He was just about to start planning how to get Aurora back to activate the eggs. "Now what am I to do? They're going to be keeping a tight hold on that last one."

"Don't you worry, master. You will think of something in time." Raymond encouraged, his slow speaking pace appearing to calm Descole somewhat. Hopefully this 'something' that he thought of didn't involve any sort of giant mechanisms that he would get dragged into helping build.

The other man laughed. He could tell from the butler's blank, neutral expression that he was dreading whatever plan his master was to come up with - but being so loyal and obedient he would never say so. "You don't have to pretend that you agree with me." Descole said with a grin - he knew that Raymond would do so anyway. "We will discuss this tomorrow."

* * *

Finally, the footfall that she had been dreadingly waiting for. Closer and closer the noise came until Emmy could hear them directly outside of their room.

She dragged the duvet back onto her bed, covering herself up to the neck. Her hands clasped the fabric, pulling it under her chin. She felt like she was about to overheat, but she didn't care.

The door was flung open, and in marched two Targent members, both fully uniformed. She vaguely recognised them both from when she had been at the headquarters. The two men headed straight towards Aurora. Emmy couldn't bear to watch, but couldn't tear her eyes away either.

The first man lifted up Aurora out of the bed. He wasn't gentle with her, but luckily wasn't rough either. The Azran girl never stirred, it was as if she had been completely shut off like some kind of robot.

Carrying her out aided by the second man, the first man noticed that Aurora had began to move. At first it was just a flinch, but then the girl opened her eyes. When she did, Emmy quickly shut her own.

"Wha-?" the girl said softly in confusion. *What was happening? Was this another dream or a memory?* She was being carried by someone. She moved her head up and saw Emmy lying asleep in her bed. Her head was pushed down by the man carrying her. "Emmy!" There was no reply."Emmy?" she called over and over again, but her quiet voice didn't seem to be able to wake the other girl up.

Not even the wind could drown out the girl's cry for help. Emmy curled up. She couldn't tell if Aurora was still there or if it was her mind was repeating it endlessly to plunge her into even more guilt.

Emmy opened her one eye. Aurora was gone, and the footsteps of the two men had disappeared, along with the girl's calls for help. She looked over to the bed which now lay empty, the sheets were strewn across the floor.

But there was somebody still there.

They were in a Targent uniform, but it looked as if had been customised - much like her own had. The crimson trench jacket was slightly too neat; the creases in the uniform still in tact.

Emmy watched as the woman replaced the egg with a note, before disappearing as quickly and soundlessly as she came.

It was over. Just like that.

Emmy rolled over and tugged the duvet further up over her, holding it even closer to her chest. Knowing that Aurora would be safe was the only comforting thought she had. As Leon had said, the Azran emissary played a vital role in Targent's plans - they had to keep her safe.

* * *

"Professor!" Emmy shouted, banging at the door to the room opposite. Emmy had barely got any sleep last night, and she had spent the past hour awake clock watching. The second that it turned 7 (the time that the professor was usually ready by) she was up.

The door opened. "Professor, is Aurora with you?" She knew the answer to that question.

"No. Why? What has happened?" Layton asked, detecting the urgency in the woman's voice. By now Luke had run over too.

"She's gone."

The trio rushed back into the room that Emmy and Aurora had been sharing. Aurora's bedsheets had been pulled from the side nearest to the door partway onto the floor.

"From the state of the bed she must have been kidnapped while she was still asleep..." Layton muttered.

"She had the egg too." Emmy added gravely.

"You don't suppose that Descole-"

"Professor! There's a note over here." Luke interupted, waving about a piece of paper in his hand. "Shall I read it?"

The professor nodded.

" Okay so, ' _Hello Layton._ ' " Luke stopped. The complacency of just the first two words was enough to give a good idea of who it was. Kidnapping someone and then writing a smug note to announce it was just the sort of thing that Descole would do. Luke felt responsible for what had happened - he had not long before reassured her that everything would be okay.

Emmy stared drop-jawed. She too was thinking about how it sounded very much like Descole. What if that young woman in the Targent uniform was really him in another disguise? "Carry on reading, Luke." she said impatiently.

"Okay, okay." Luke answered. "It says: _'As I told you before, the girl is essential in our plans. If you want to get her back then I suggest you come and get her from Targent's headquarters in the Nest. We will be waiting_.' Professor we have to go - we need to save her!"

"So it's _Targent_ that took her..."

"What are you thinking, Professor?" Emmy asked with curiosity.

Layton rubbed his chin in thought. "I don't think we have any choice but to go there." He said. "We have to save Aurora."


	13. Chapter 13

Layton rubbed his chin in thought. "I don't think we have any choice but to go there." He said. "We have to save Aurora."

"But how do we go about travelling to the Nest? We don't even have a way of getting out of Mossinia!" Luke said. The boy would try anything to help get his friend back, but in this almost barren town there were very few options.

"I remember reading up on the place before, apparently the security there is very high - the only way in is from the air." Emmy explained. "If we could get back to London we could use my plane. It will be a bit of a squeeze but it is the only thing that we have that we could get in with."

"I guess it's just a matter of getting to London then." Luke responded.

Layton nodded in agreement. He was pretty sure that her plane was only meant to hold two people, but if that was the only way of getting Aurora back then they had no choice. The professor folded his arms. "You two make sure all of your things are in your bags. We are going to see if Umid can reccomend a way for us to get back."

After making sure that everything was tidied away so that they could just pick everything up and leave if needed, Layton, Luke and Emmy headed towards Umid's house. The boy was very bright and it seemed that he would be the best to ask for help.

Walking through the centre of the town, they saw the boy coming out of a shop. He came running over, his expression puzzled. "I didn't think you'd still be here. I was sure I'd seen your airship fly off." Umid said. "Where are the others? I haven't seen you all together since you got that phoenix egg - it hasn't caused any arguments has it?" he asked jokingly.

Emmy and Layton looked at each other. "Yeah, about that..." Emmy began.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't think that it would have actually happened." The boy answered, scratching the back of his head with embarassment.

"That's fine Umid we came to ask for some advice." Layton stated. "We need to find a way back to London, but we are clueless as to how."

"Oh, right." Umid said, his face lighting up a little. "I can help with that."

* * *

"Master, we have arrived in Kodh." Raymond announced as the Bostonius landed. He was glad that - for once - the man's plan of action wasn't something reckless. For once, it made sense and didn't involve either of them doing anything questionable. _Not that his master care even if it was a bit dodgy._ He thought. _He wouldn't care at all so long as it got the outcome that he wanted._

"That's great, Raymond." Descole praised, walking through the door from his room whilst still securing his cape over his shoulders. Normally he wouldn't have bothered with it for such a short trip there and back, but after the residents of Kodh had seen him go in there as Sycamore he needed to be sure that he looked completely different. The cape was just an extra measure to make sure. Hopefully nobody would recognise the Bostonius - he didn't want them blabbing to whoever could be looking for them.

"Are you sure that this will be necessary, master? Professor Layton is probably still in Mossinia with the egg."

"Yes, well you know what Layton is like, he's probably built some kind contraption to get back to London and I'm not going to be wasting more fuel by going back to check." Descole said, picking up the sword that he always carried under his cape just in case.

"Now, are you ready?"

"Oh, I-ah." W _as he meant to have been aware that he was to accompany his master?_ The older man hesitated before answering. "Aye, I'm ready."

And so, the two men stepped out of the Bostonius.

It was as if the town's population had halved since they had last been there. It was still quiet - quieter, in fact. Whether this was Targent's doing or it was simply the fact there was a strange masked man walking down the streets in a cape, Descole couldn't tell - hopefully it was not the former.

When they reached the marketplace, they found that it was a lot more active. The people there made sure to give both Descole and Raymond a wide berth. They couldn't complain - it made navigating through the crowd a lot easier. Descole also found that there was somethinng mildly amusing about having people cower away in fear at there mere sight of seeing him.

They continued to walk, when Raymond bumped into a young woman.

"My sincerest apologies, madam." The butler said with a bow.

"Raymond! Come on, we need to keep going." Descole hissed continuing to walk on. He stopped and turned around when he heard that the man had got into a conversation with the woman. T _ypical. They're in the process of doing something important, and Raymond remembers that he needs to exercise his social skills._

"Oh no it's fine. " The woman smiled. She took another look at Raymond. "Ooh, now you're new around here aren't you? Don't tell me your airship crashed around here too?"

Descole paced back over. "No, we didn't crash. We landed perfectly fine. Now if you don't mind-" he began before being interrupted. He glared at Raymond, who held a hand over his mouth to hide the smile that had crept onto his face from his master's annoyance.

"Oh - there's two of you! Nice to meet you both. It's not often that we get new uh," The woman noticed Descole's mask and began to feel a little intimidated but continued awkwardly anyway. "that we get new faces around here that actually intended to come here." Hopefully that comment didn't offend the man - he looked pretty vexed.

"Excuse me?" A young woman appeared from out of the crowd.

Descole groaned. _Raymond had better not get talking to this other one._

The girl looked up at him, narrowing her green eyes. "I wasn't talking to you!"

"Let's go, Raymond." He said in a monotonous voice. Apparently the outfit wasn't enough to scare _everyone_.

"Well, nice meeting you, madam." Raymond said politely, bowing once again. He gave a quick smile to the other lady before turning back around.

Descole had already started walking off again in his impatience. Raymond ran over to catch up. Neither of them spoke until they reached the lake - it was luckily still frozen over.

"Here it is." Descole declared, towering over the icy lake, his arm outstretched. He paused for dramatic effect. "We just need to reach them step and then we are there." Putting his right foot onto the ice tentatively to begin with, the man began walking across the ice with Raymond following behind.

The pair were an odd sight- a man trying and failing to stride with his head held high across the ice with his cape flapping behind him, and a smaller man - almost half his size - trailing behind clumsily.

* * *

"Are you two ready to go?" Emmy said, her nervous giggle mistaken as one of excitement as she started up the engine of the plane.

Layton and Luke both nodded. All they hoped was that the woman's flying wasn't as bad as her driving so that they would make it there in one piece.

* * *

Reaching the steps, Descole and Raymond walked into the ruined structure at the centre. The floor was dry- meaning no one had been in for a while. The roof was still glowing with the blue inscriptions. "Are you sure that this will show us where the egg is?"

"Well it did before, and the dome appears to be glowing still, so it had better do." Descole explained.

Straight away they saw where the four eggs that were already in their possession appeared on the map - the markers were clustered together and the light from them was intense. They just had to do a bit of searching on the map for the final one. Taking half of the dome each, they looked for the marker that represented the final egg.

The glowing diagrams weren't

"Uh, Master?" Raymond called. He had found where the final egg was marked on the map, and immediately recognised where the place was.

"Raymond? You've found it already?" Descole asked, walking over to the butler with enthusiasm.

"Master," Raymond repeated. His voice was monotone and serious. "Look where it is."


	14. Chapter 14

"Master," Raymond repeated. His voice was monotone and serious. "Look where it is."

Descole looked up, his expression confused from the tone of his butler's voice. When he saw where the marker for the egg was, he understood Raymond's concern. "How?" the man growled, his teeth grit. "How?!" He shouted again. "I bet it was that assistant's fault!"

"Master, we need to remain calm. " The other man said with a voice of reason. This only seemed to irritate Descole further. Raymond shrank back, once again it seemed useless trying to tame the man's emotions. "Do we fly there straight away?" He asked once his master had stopped with his angry deep-breathing.

"I should have never allowed them to leave." He muttered to himself, ignoring Raymond's question. The man paced back and forth, then continued, his voice rising as his temper did. "How can Layton be so stupid as to have not even considered anything I said as the truth?" Descole's hands clenched into fists. "I should have kept pushing Emmy until she admitted it."

"You can't change all of that now." Raymond said calmly, missing out the word 'master', feeling as if he had said it too many times already - he had never once called his master 'Descole', and he didn't plan on starting.

Descole let out another angry growl - at Raymond this time - as he made his way towards the exit. "Raymond? We're going there. Now."

* * *

Aurora's hand twitched, and slowly, the girl opened her eyes. Her surroundings were completely foreign to her: a tiny box room, plain concrete walls with hardly anything else in the room. A uniformed man stood next to the door on the other side of the room.

She could feel the familiarity of some kind of Azran relic by the room - the sensation was much stronger than anything she had felt from the aura stones. Cautiously, Aurora stood up - the guard didn't even turn to look. The girl approached to the huge window at the side of the room.

It revealed a large, elaborate walkway built around a chiseled teal pillar. She could feel the Azran power emanating from it stronger than ever. The concrete walls around the walkway were not grey like in the room she was in, but instead were a shimmering gold.

As she watched the glowing engravings on the column brighten then fade, Aurora took the time to recollect what happened during the night.

She remembered awaking to find herself slung over the shoulder of a uniformed man, and then the calling for help which was never heard, yet seemed to go on forever. Finally, she remembered being bundled into a vehicle, it was pitch black in there - whether that meant that she fell asleep, passed out, or it was actually that dark she did not know.

And now she was here.

Aurora leant on the window sill sadly. Maybe her people were right, maybe humans were still selfish and foolish beings. She sighed. That couldn't be true, their world had so many good people among the bad.

Hearing talking behind her, the Azran girl's attention was distracted. She turned around to see that another uniformed man had entered and was conversing with the guard.

From their whispers it was difficult to tell what they were speaking of. Aurora heard the guard adress the man as 'officer' a few times as well as Layton's name but little else made sense to the girl - not until the officer pointed straight at her and beckoned her over.

She gave him a quizzical look but walked forward out of fear more than anything else.

"Come on, this way." The officer said in a stern voice. Aurora followed on after him silently down the corridor. "Boss says you need t'be kept safe, which is why we're moving you higher up the tower." The man explained, walking up a set of stairs. He didn't look back at Aurora once.

Managing to squeak out an "okay," the girl followed him on up, still trailing behind. Even the stairs themselves were ornately decorated and golden trimming seemed to be everywhere.

"It's just around the corner here." The officer assured. Despite the fact they seemed keen on keeping her safe, Aurora couldn't help but feel insecure. The sight of all of these criminals being so _normal_... It only reminded her more of Professor Sycamore's betrayal.

* * *

The little yellow plane came to a bumpy halt and the professor, Luke and Emmy got out.

"I must say Emmy, your flying is much better than your driving. I never would have guessed." Layton said with a chuckle. Luke scoffed at the comment.

"So this is... the Nest?" Luke questioned - he didn't like the look of the place at all. Tall buildings were everywhere which made every pathway seem dark and dingy. Even though it was only midday, the street lights were on and shone a murky yellow colour.

"It is most unsettling." Layton said pushing his hat back into place. "I was expecting us to be surrounded by now, not for it to be so silent. Watch out in the side streets you two."

"Maybe Bronev wants to actually talk to us?" Emmy suggested matter-of-factly. "We need to march in there - they did invite us after all."

"Indeed, they did. Well in that case I suppose we should head straight for the headquarters."

"But how do we know where it is, professor?" Luke piped up, pulling his hat up off his eyes as he jumped about. "I bet it is one of the big, tall buildings." The boy pointed to the tallest building that he could see - it must have had hundreds of windows and at the very top was an illuminated sculpture of an eagle.

"I think you may be right, my boy."

* * *

Aurora sat isolated in the new room - this one even emptier than the last. The Azran power that she could feel before had almost faded out all together. While the large window remained, this one looked out onto a grey concrete wall - not the lavish walkway like in the other room.

If she listened hard enough, Aurora could hear the officer that had escorted her to the room talking to someone else.

" 'ave you seen that man the Boss' niece 'as brought in?" The one man said. " 'e's another of them fancy researcher's ain't 'e?"

"What? The one in the top hat and the boy?" Aurora heard the officer ask. Her eyes widened, she only knew one person who wore a top hat - did that mean that Layton was here to rescue her? Or had he been captured too? There was a brief silence. "Yeah, he's another new one."


	15. Chapter 15

"Yeah, he's another new one."

What did that mean? She was almost certain that 'the one in the top hat' was Professor Layton and that the boy with him was Luke - but where was Emmy? And who was the girl that they were with? The Azran girl never thought about Descole's accusations - that Emmy really was part of Targent.

Aurora slumped back into the chair in the corner of the room. The talking in the room next door to her had ceased, and she heard a door slam shut followed by the sound of footsteps - more than one pair - which moved further away. The girl listened carefully - seconds later, silence.

Confident that nobody was near, Aurora decided to try and give the door handle a turn.

* * *

"Do think that this is it, professor?" Emmy asked as if she knew no better herself. It was difficult acting like she knew little about the place that she had spent years in. Being back again felt unusual - she wished that she could feel more fondly of the place that she had pretty much grown up in, but couldn't shake the lingering feeling of repulsion.

"It seems to be." Layton answered."It is the most ostentatious building here. No doubt it was designed to intimidate."

"But it's deserted! How come there aren't any guards or anything?" Luke asked as he stared up at the building that towered over them. The boy was anxious to go in and find out exactly what was going on, but most of all, he wanted to rescue Aurora.

"That I do not know, my boy." Layton admitted, lifting his hand to his chin. He had to admit to himself that he was feeling rather tense. "There's a chance that they have been positioned elsewhere to give us a false sense of security." The professor explained.

"Well we can't just wait out here! Come on, we have to to go in and find out what Bronev wants." Emmy said over-optimistically as she hastily pushed open one of the large doors.

* * *

"We're about ten minutes away, master." Raymond said, keeping his eyes ahead. The pair had exchanged few words - let alone glances - since they had left the dome in Kodh. "Are you ready?"

To his surprise, Raymond was joined by Descole at the front of the ship. "Of course I'm ready." the man replied brimming with confidence. While he had considered infiltrating the Targent headquarters many times before, this was the first time that he was going to act upon those ideas.

Raymond looked over at his master momentarily. "Sir, I don't reccomend that you go dressed like that." He stated, seeing that he was in his mask, hat and cape, before turning his attention back to flying the ship. The butler had to wonder whether the man had even aknowledged how much he stood out in his Descole get-up. "You'll be picked up by them immediately. If you want to go unnoticed you'll need to look as if you belong."

"What do you suggest? I find myself some thrown-out Targent uniform and go in like that? Great idea!" The masked man ridiculed sarcastically, turning to face the shorter, older man.

"More like one of the... researchers, perhaps." The butler proposed, ignoring the sarcasm and taking a hand off the wheel as he spoke.

"No." Descole knew instantly what Raymond was suggesting. "No." He said louder when the other man looked over again. "I only did that to manipulate Layton and look how many problems that caused!" Being forced into acting like his old self only brought on more turmoil and stress - Raymond of all people should have known that.

"You have few other choices, master." The butler said with a sigh. "You'd only need to look like it - I know the whole act reminded you- ah." he stopped himself before he said too much.

Descole exhaled loudly. It was true, he had no other way of going in there unnoticed. "Fine." He snapped, reluctantly throwing his mask down ane heading towards his move.

* * *

It was locked. She tried to push it and pull it but her efforts were useless.

Hearing footsteps, Aurora quickly sat back down where she was meant to be. The footsteps belonged to the officer that had put her in the room to start with. The man quickly fiddled with the lock before opening the door just wide enough for himself to get in.

"I reccomend that you don't start getting any ideas like that again. I doubt you'd like what would happen if you did." The officer said. Was that a threat? The man's tone was so bland that she couldn't tell if he was joking or being serious. "We're monitoring this room on our surveliance. If I were you, I'd sit there and not cause us any more trouble."

Nodding obediently, Aurora lowered her head. If the room was monitored then escaping would prove futile - she'd be caught before she made it out, and that would only make things harder for herself.

* * *

The second they walked into the building, they were confronted by a tall pillar. It was, without a doubt, one of Azran origin.

"Wow!" Luke exclaimed. "Who'd have thought there would be a massive pillar hidden away in here?"

"I was not expecting it either, Luke. I do wonder how they got it here." Layton said, inspecting the glowing engravings on the column. "If we had Aurora with us then we could have seen what this means. Seeing as we don't then we will just need to continue up."

"Look, Professor, I think that's a lift over there. Shall we take that?" Emmy asked, pointing to the far side of the room.

"Hmm. It appears to be our only option. I don't see any other way up." Layton stated. "But I do worry about that guard over there."

"We were invited here. We can just say that Bronev wants to see us." Luke said resolutley. Any other time he would be terrified, but today he was determined - determined to save his friend.

"Luke is right." Emmy agreed. "If they hear that we are here under the reqests of their boss then I doubt they will try to stop us." That or the fact they're with a fellow Targent member already, Emmy thought.

* * *

"Desm-" Raymond began to call as his master walked in, before stopping himself. He must have been getting forgetful in his old age - forgetful or hopeful. "Master," he corrected himself. "Are you going to be okay? It will be dangerous."

"Should be." the man grunted, pretending not to hear Raymond almost call him Desmond. Like the butler had suggested, he wasn't going to put on another act - sure, he'd look like the famous archaeologist that he used to be, but he had no intentions of showing any hint of his old character. "I guess this will have to do as far as protection goes." He said, holding out a sword only half the size of his usual one. This one only just fit inside his jacket. "Raymond, you stay in here, it will be safer."

"Aye." Raymond nodded, carefully landing the Bostonius next to a tiny yellow plane - it looked just as out of place as their bright red airship. "Is it usually this quiet here?" The butler asked with worry once he had stopped the engine.

"It was never this quiet..." The man thought out loud, adjusting his glasses (he had found a spare pair while tidying up the mess that Emmy had made in his desk). "It is quite unsettling. I suppose they are planning something."

"Are you still going to do it, master?" Raymond asked.

"Of course."


	16. Chapter 16

"Of course." Descole answered - or was he called Desmond now? He wasn't going to dwell on the answer.

"I will be here if you need to return." Raymond said supportively. The Scotsman's smile hid his nervousness - Targent had shot at Descole before. If they found that he wasn't meant to be there, they would have no qualms about shooting at him again. "Best of luck, master."

With them parting words, Descole stepped out of the Bostonius. Instantaneously, he was hit by the familiar, nauseating scent. As he inhaled, his chest seemed to tighten and his confidence was sucked out of him.

It was all too familiar. It was the same pungent scent that had filled his lungs the second he returned to his home on that day. The day that he refused to join Targent. The one that had signified the beginning of the end.

* * *

Much to the surprise of Layton and Luke, the guard never batted an eyelid as they walked past. Emmy knew that it was her being with them that was doing it - being so close to the boss meant that the other members had a tendency to go out of their way to do her a favour.

"Professor? How do we find out where Aurora is?" Luke asked as they stepped into the lift. His eyes widened as he saw the buttons for all of the floors. "Look how many floors there are - it will take forever to find the right one."

"Not quite that long, my boy." Layton answered light-heartedly before his tone switched back to being serious. "Well we can't very well try every floor. I propose that we find Bronev first - he should be easier to find."

"Easier?" Luke questioned. "He still could be anywhere!"

"Now now, Luke. He could be, but think for a moment." Layton said calmly. "If you were the boss of a big criminal organisation and had a tower like this then where would you be?"

"At the top, I guess." the boy shrugged. "So do we try that? What if he tries to make us leave before we can find her? We can't just leave her here!"

"It is a risk we will have to take." Layton said, pressing the button for the top floor and then adjusting his hat. "If it comes to that then we will have to try our best to find her on the way out."

* * *

He was surprised that he was still walking towards the headquarters. He was intoxicated by the sickly scent that was ingrained in his throat and lungs, the scent that still lingered long after he'd breathed it in.

Descole was still yet to have been confronted by anyone from Targent in the side streets of The Nest. It was probably a good thing - he would not be held responsible for his actions if they made the mistake of coming anywhere near him. At this moment, he wanted revenge on all of them - every single Targent member.

Upon reaching the headquarters, Descole walked in straight away - he wasn't going to remain outside and subject himself anymore to that scent of trauma. While he had noticed that there was no security at the doors, his mind was too preoccupied to consider what this meant. The last time he had walked through those doors, he couldn't have guessed the grief and bitterness that would follow.

The first couple of breaths he took inside the building were a godsend. Thankfully the air was much cleaner, and with a few slow breaths the man was able to relieve some of the torment that had followed him here.

Managing to compose himself a little more, Descole ran through what he was here to do in his head. He had to get to Bronev without any of the Targent underlings stopping him.

* * *

"Hmm. Have you two noticed how odd Bronev's actions have been?" Layton began, his chin resting on his hand as they travelled in the lift.

"What do you mean, professor?" Luke asked. Emmy remained silent. She had thought about it earlier and only hoped it didn't mean what she thought it meant.

"I mean, why did they take Aurora but tell us that we can take her back?" Layton explained. "Like Bronev said, they need her in their plans - I don't expect that they'd let her go that easily."

Luke looked down sadly. Did they even have a chance of saving her? He had promised her that she'd be safe. "So you think we have been lured here?" Luke asked worriedly, looking back up wide-eyed.

"I think so, yes." the professor stated. "However I have no idea why - they already have everything of Azran origin that was in our possession."

"That's what I thought too..." Luke said disappointedly. It always caused him concern when even the Professor didn't know what was happening. "Emmy what do you think?"

Emmy blinked. "I don' really have any ideas, Luke." Lies. "Let's just wait and see what happens when we get up there."

* * *

Descole recalled that there were two ways up to Bronev's office: the obvious way being the lift, and the long way being the corridor that ran around the main part of the tower. The long route just happened to be the safer option.

Slipping in through the door at the side, the man marched down the corridor, his goal at the front of his mind. He had gone from thinking of everything to practically nothing at all very quickly and never noticed the Targent officer's footsteps coming, echoing down the corridor in front of him.

As the the officer turned the corner, Descole, who had involuntarily tensed up the second that he saw the other man, continued to walk on. Avoiding eye contact with the officer didn't work, however.

"Oh you're- I haven't seen you around here in-"

"Years. Yes, I know." Descole cut in haughtily. Thank goodness Raymond had convinced him to wear the disguise - he would probably be dead by now if he wasn't. "Now if you don't mind." He continued, pushing past the officer. Hopefully the man wouldn't be a persistent pest.

The officer looked at him with scepticism as he pushed past. "Hold on!" The man said, stopping Descole before he could get much further. "We can't allow anyone up here at the moment." While the officer couldn't admit to knowing the researcher very well beforehand, he noticed that the man's personality had shifted drastically from how he had remembered him.

"You don't have the authority to tell me where I should or shouldn't be going." Descole said coldly, pushing his glasses up with his one hand. Hopefully this man wasn't one of them Targent members who liked to use their gun more than needed. Then he had a better idea. "Bronev asked me to meet him through this way."

"Nobody's told me that."

"Why would they?" The man in the professor's guise questioned. "It is private business."

"Sorry but I still have to stop you."

"Go ahead, but don't expect Bronev to be pleased with you." Descole retorted sharply. He was beginning to seriously consider using his sword on this man.

The man appeared to think for a moment. "W-well, so long as you go straight to where you need without then I'll let you." The officer said - he was going to get bashed by Bronev whichever way he looked at it.

"Thank you." Descole said with a smile before calmly walking off. It didn't take too much convincing to change the mind of that gullible nitwit.

* * *

"So do you think Bronev is going to be in there?" Luke asked. What stood before them was a high purple wall. Steps led up to a bronze-coloured door.

"Yes, this must be his office." Layton replied, holding his hat as he often did at times of caution.

Luke shivered. "It looks very...intimidating!" He felt Emmy put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't thi-" The boy stopped as one of the doors opened, and a man with a fair-coloured mop of bedraggled hair and orange neckerchief came out.

"Professor Hershel Layton." The man began, his words were slow and snake-like. Layton noticed that a huge scar ran right around his face. "Here to see the boss. Yes?" He turned to look at the door then back at Layton.

The Professor stared back. The man only seemed to be trying to intimidate them.

The Targent member smirked. "Go on then."

The trio glanced at each other then stepped forward to open the door.

It revealed a huge office. Blue carpet, mahogany bookshelves and desks, and large windows. Books were scattered everywhere.

Before they had time to really take in the surroundings, a voice came from the back of the room.

"Well, well! At long last, here you are. How do you like this Nest of ours?"


	17. Chapter 17

"Well, well! At long last, here you are." The harsh voice said. He leant forward and got up out of the blue armchair, standing with perfect posture. "So, how do you like this Nest of ours?" He said, walking over to one of the large windows.

"Bronev, tell us, where is she?" He asked, stepping up onto the royal blue carpet. He thought that if he cut to the chase it would make things quicker and easier, but Bronev had other ideas.

The other man folded his arms. "Oh, I can assure you, she's somewhere safe." he said with a grin.

Emmy frowned and swallowed uncomfortably. Her uncle's definition of 'safe' probably meant locked out of the way somewhere. It was bad enough witnessing Aurora being kidnapped and allowing it - now she felt the guilt of getting the girl locked away.

"Give over!" Luke shouted, pointing a finger at him. The boy scowled. "Tell us where you've taken Aurora!"

The bearded man just laughed. "Oh please, I'm sure you've realised by now that I have no intentions of returning the girl to you." He said, stroking his beard deviously. "You are very observant, after all."

Nobody made any remarks. Instead, they let him continue his little speech.

"Although, you are also here to retrieve the aura stone, are you not?" Bronev continued. He strolled over to his desk and picked up the egg that sat on it. "How about a little game?"

* * *

As he walked off, Descole didn't look back to see what the Targent officer did afterwards. He didn't exactly lie (although if he did, it wouldn't have been too much of a problem) - he _was_ going to see Bronev. The only difference was that Bronev wasn't expecting him.

Walking past a window, he saw that the Bostonius was still there - that was generally a good sign. He stopped for a moment, putting his one hand on the window ledge to look out. He hoped that Raymond, whatever the man was doing, wasn't going to be troubled by anyone from Targent. Descole wasn't sure that he would be able to cope at losing Raymond to them too.

He walked on up some stairs which brought him to a corridor lined with grey doors. Some of the rooms had windows looking in, others didn't - it must have been where they put people after kidnapping them. Once upon a time Bronev himself was probably locked up in one of them - perhaps that was why they were disused.

Descole shook his head. There was probably a completely different reason why they weren't used - he knew from experience that Bronev had no issues with punishing people in whichever way he saw fit. If that meant subjecting them to whatever he was subjected to on that day that he got kidnapped by the organisation then he would do it.

* * *

When the silence prevailed, Bronev went on talking.

"This game is a favourite of mine - just a simple coin game." He said, pulling a key from his pocket and opening one of his desk drawers. "The winner," He took out the egg and held it in his fingertips. "Takes the Azran egg. Are you in, Layton?"

The professor brought his hand to his chin and closed his eyes for a second. "Very well." He nodded after having the time to consider the offer. _Bronev wouldn't have suggested it if it would be a problem for him later on_. He thought. _But having the egg now would mean that they could buy themselves some time in order to figure out what to do._

"I will play along."

* * *

Descole continued to walk - it wasn't much further now until he reached Bronev's office. He felt a strange kind of inner strength and determination - there was something about this place that accentuated how he felt about everything.

 _Bronev wouldn't have that final egg for long._

Nearing the end of the corridor, Descole noticed something in one of the rooms. It was odd. Not one room that he had passed had anyone in it, but this one looked like-

He stopped walking, and turned to look again through the window.

At first it didn't register. He looked again and released the breath that he didn't realise he was holding.

 _What was she doing here? Shouldn't Layton have been keeping her safe?_

The girl looked up, appearing to sense the man's presence. Her eyes dilated but were unreadable, he couldn't tell whether they were showing relief or fear.

 _Layton was supposed to be keeping her safe._

He couldn't let Targent treat her in such a way. Besides, he would need her to activate the eggs.

* * *

"Well then Bronev, I appear to have won." Layton paused, but when the man didn't hand over the egg he continued. "I believe the Azran egg is the prize we agreed on."

"I suppose I have no choice, do I?" Bronev said, and let out a laugh, handing the professor the stone.

None of this gave them a reason as to why they were lured here. "Why did you want us here?" Said Layton firmly. He could tell that Bronev was playing mind games with them.

"Curious are we?" The Targent boss taunted. "Professor Layton, it is you that I have been waiting for..."

Emmy gasped. She had hoped that the purpose of bringing Layton to the Nest wasn't this. Convinced herself that Leon only wanted to see him to warn him to not interfere in Targent's business.

"Hm?" The professor grunted in confusion.

"I'd like to extend an invitation to you to join Targent."


	18. Chapter 18

"I'd like to extend an invitation to you to join Targent."

"I beg your pardon?" Layton said in surprise, looking up from under his hat and taking a step back. Surely Bronev knew that he would never accept the offer.

"What?!" Emmy screeched. Her shock wasn't put-on. Bronev turned to look her way and, while his sunglasses covered his eyes, she was sure that he looked her dead in the eye, raising an eyebrow, she recognised this as a look that he gave when someone challenged his judgement.

"Oh, Don't feign surprise Layton. Did you _really_ not see this coming?" Bronev said condescendingly. He raised an arm as he spoke. "You are, after all, an archaeologist - one who has seen the Azran ruins and knows of their significance."

As Layton listened, his eyes narrowed. He had also seen what Targent were prepared to do and knew of their brutality.

"Power and wisdom beyond anything that mankind possesses today..." He recited, his words flowing like an incantation. He held still for a second, and then quickly, the man's eyes darted back onto the professor. "Don't tell me that you aren't tempted!"

* * *

Aurora gave a small gasp as her eyes moved upwards - outside the room was Professor Sycamore. The sight stirred up a lot of confusing questions inside the girl. Why was he here - _he_ wasn't part of Targent was he? She was sure that he had expressed his hatred for Targent before - or was he lying about that too? Didn't he betray all of them?

The girl was snapped out of her thoughts by a crack against the window. She flinched, and let out yet another gasp. The man had hurled a recognisable egg-shaped stone at the large window that looked into the room. The aura stone had left a crack right in the centre of the window and yet despite how close she was to it, she couldn't sense the presence of it at all. Hitting the window again, the crack grew, and Aurora stepped back to avoid any of the glass hitting her.

The flood of questions was released again. Was he really a bad person? Why would he be trying to help her escape if he was? Why wasn't Professor Layton here to save her like he had done before?

With a third hit, the glass shattered inwards, and glass shards rained across the floor, creating a hole just large enough for the girl to escape through.

Descole could already hear footsteps running fast down the corridor. There was no time to waste. "Come this way." He said, offering out a hand to help her clamber out. She took it reluctantly. Aurora noticed his voice was changed from that calm, intellectually thoughtful voice of the Professor to a rougher growl. "You've got to hurry else they'll catch up - and if I get shot I'm not going to be of much use, am I?"

* * *

When Bronev had finished his little speech, the Professor remained silent - he had to think of the right way to decline for the safety of both himself and his assistants.

"The advancement of man's knowledge is a worthy goal, of course." Layton began, and he noticed a slight smirk appear on the other man's face. "However it is one that must be pursued in freedom - not at the cost of human rights."

Bronev's reaction was an unexpected one. He turned and strode to the side of the room, shaking his head. When he finally looked up, instead of the predicted shout of anger, the man let out a roar of laughter. "Such a noble sentiment!" He said, folding his arms assertively.

Emmy hid her worry under a determined expression. She was hoping that when they came face to face, the professor could bring her uncle to his senses, but instead it seemed only to spur him on and make him become more self-confident.

"Now before you start to feel smug, I think I need to show you something."

Bronev paced over towards his desk and turned the monitor to face Layton. With caution, the professor walked over. Luke glanced at Emmy, and nervously the two followed on.

* * *

Aurora ran down the corridor as fast as she could, but Descole could see that she was beginning to fall behind. He couldn't let her get captured by them again - it would endanger both her and himself. "Aurora!" He called to get her attention.

The Azran girl looked over to him and, before she knew it, the man lifted her into his arms before continuing to run.

She wasn't sure how to feel. It was impossible to relax given the situation, and every time she would think she felt safe and secure because she wasn't alone, Aurora would remember that this man wasn't the same person that she had become become so close to on the Bostonius.

Descole kept running, the footsteps were getting closer. Luckily the girl was very light, but carrying her wasn't ideal - he needed somewhere to hide so that they wouldn't see them.

Nearing the end of the corridor, Descole decided to take a risk - instead of turning, he would run into the antechamber of Bronev's office straight ahead. The Targent underlings wouldn't think they would hide in there, not to mention the fact that they would be too afraid to barge into their boss's office.

Letting the door swing shut behind them, Descole put Aurora down gently. The girl shuddered and took a few steps back, watching him carefully. She had been hopeful when she had first seen him return as Professor Sycamore, but now she couldn't tell who he was. His actions said one thing, but his speech said another - and his facial expressions exhibited something completely different to both.

Descole watched as the girl shuffled away from him, and gave a sigh, looking at the floor. It was his own fault.

"...I think I heard them talking about Professor Layton." Aurora spoke up quietly, breaking the silence. Maybe Sycamore (or _whoever_ he was now) knew what they could be doing. "It was about... being a new researcher I think."

"W-what?!" The man exclaimed, pushing his one hand under his glasses. His expression suddenly turned stormy. "What did you say?"

The Azran put her hand close to her chest and tensed up. The harshness in his voice hadn't gone, even as he whispered. Opening her mouth to mumble back a response, Aurora was stopped by a voice coming from the office.

"No! My parents... I- What do you intend to do to them?"


	19. Chapter 19

"No! My parents... I-" It was Professor Layton's distressed voice. He sounded uncharacteristically defeated."What do you intend to do to them?" The professor pleaded.

It was then that Aurora noticed the torture on Professor Sycamore's face. The man's gaze became distant, his pupils dilating, and the knuckles of his clenched fists were visibly sweating. It was if he was watching a horror film unravel before him, unable to tear his eyes away.

"P-professor?" The Azran girl whispered, still quite a distance from him as a precautionary measure - part of her wanted to go over to see what was wrong, but the other half of her was too frightened to approach.

Descole took a sharp intake of breath - it sounded as if he was almost as if he was about to start sobbing. He heard the shouting of Targent members running down the corridor, all oblivious to the fast that they had just ran past the intruder. At that very moment, his eyes flickered back into focus.

 _What do you intend to do to them?_ They were the very words that he had uttered on that day - the words that he shouldn't have dared ask. Now his brother was about to repeat the same mistake. Descole couldn't stay silent long enough to wait for Bronev's response.

"Aurora, stay out of sight. If people come in, you run to me. Yes?" He stated, trying to put a hand on her shoulder. She recoiled immediately but nodded - she was evidently petrified of him but he knew that soon she'd realise that it was in her best interests to listen to and follow what he told her.

Giving no time for the Azran girl to question him, Descole burst into Bronev's office and strolled leisurely around the staircase towards the desk, his eyes narrowed but expression neutral. He wondered what Layton would think about him turning up again - he needed to realise that working with him was the lesser of two evils.

In this time, Aurora scurried to hide behind the stairs that ran through the middle of the room. As she did, she thought about what he had told her: _If people come in, you run to me._ If he'd have said that a day ago she would have done so without question - now she wasn't so sure. She still couldn't quite grasp what was going on.

Emmy was the first to spot Descole. "Professor Sycamore...?" she whispered, and gave Layton a look of concern. The professor looked up but didn't do or say anything - he was still dazed from Bronev threatening his parents. Descole had most likely come for the final egg - the one that they had already taken back.

Bronev let out a quiet huff of annoyance. "Well, well, well, what have we here? Come to join the party?" The bearded man mocked, shrugging his shoulders and plastering a wide grin across his face.

"Bronev you soulless monster!" Descole spat, snapping straight out of the calm demeanour he had approached with. He pushed up the glasses that had slipped off his nose. "I'll make you pay for what you've done!" The very sight of the man's face was enough to sicken him.

"Now, now." The man in blue dismissed lightly, then leaned on his desk. "What difference is there _really_ between you and me?"

Descole glared at him.

* * *

From behind the staircase, Aurora observed anxiously - if she had been created with a heart, she was sure that right now it would be pounding inside of her, wild from her unease.

As she watched, the Azran girl's eyes met with another inquisitive pair. She moved back quickly - she wasn't meant to have been spotted - but then carefully took another peek.

* * *

Descole was just about to make his own cutting retort when Layton spoke up.

"What are you planning to do to my parents?" He asked in an unwavering voice, clutching his hat in his left hand.

Bronev unfolded his arms and turned back to Layton - he had no reason to listen to Sycamore's maunder, anyway - he had been finished with that man some years ago. "Nothing at all." He said, pausing for effect to see the reaction of the professor.

Layton inhaled slowly. This was like one big game for Bronev - he knew that Layton wouldn't want his parents to come to any harm.

"If you accept my invitation, that is."

This fired up Descole. "Don't pay him any attention!" He yelled with indignance. Layton was too kind-hearted, he would agree just to see that his parents were safe - he couldn't let his brother give in to the threat. "It's a trick!"

"Oh how pathetically tiresome you are!" Bronev said, grinding his teeth before giving a warning: "If you listen to his drivel, Layton, I'll have no more mercy for you than I had for him."

Both Layton and Emmy looked at Sycamore - so the reason why he detested Targent so much was because they threatened someone close to him, too. From the sound of it, it hadn't ended well for him.

Descole grimaced. He didn't contemplate the return of all of the tormenting memories that would be dug up just from revisiting the headquarters again.

"Now then, the choice is-"

Bronev was interrupted by Swift barging into the office. "Boss, we've checked everywhere - the emissary has been taken." The man said sounding rather out of breath.

"What?" Bronev barked. "I thought that room was being monitored?"

"It was, we don't know how she escaped but the glass had been broken from the outside. The officer standing guard claim to have not known about anything until he heard the glass smash." The light-haired man recalled.

Descole grinned to himself - the officer had covered for him while trying to stay out of trouble himself.

* * *

Knowing that nobody would notice her with the action going on in the room, Aurora looked back through the railings on the stairway to see who that person looking back at her was - it was Luke, and the boy's eyes were still fixated on her.

Aurora put a finger over her lip, hoping for the boy to remain silent for everyone's sake, but the boy's expression had already shifted. She could try to make a run for it, but would it be too risky?

Luke closed his open mouth and gave a slight nod - a big mistake.

"What is it, boy?" Bronev demanded, noticing that he was looking at someone. He followed Luke's gaze to see the Azran girl hiding at the back of the room. The man growled.

Luke glanced at Layton, his eyes begging for the professor to do something to help her. First he had given the girl a false sense of security, now he was about to be the cause of her getting caught again.

"Swift." Bronev called whipping around to face the man at the doorway. Aurora jumped back. The second-in-command seemed to automatically know Bronevs intentions as he dashed out of the office.

 _You run to me. Yes?_ The words repeated in Aurora's mind. There was little else that she could do which gave her a chance of not being captured, and so, while Bronev's back was turned, she ran towards Professor Sycamore.

While Descole remembered what he had instructed Aurora to do, he also found himself being given an opportunity that he was sure would never arise again - Bronev had no backup.

For a breif moment, the air stood still.

And then, the image of his wife's lifeless body flashed through his mind; whose death had been caused by the ravages of the man who stood before him. Descole snarled loudly. This wasn't the act of revenge that he was after, but it was an opportunity that he couldn't pass up on.

He leapt towards Bronev, brandishing his sword. He had no intention of killing his biological father, but the need to better him after being humiliated in Monte D'Or was all too compelling.

The other man only had a moment to sidestep out of the way, but did so successfully, sending Descole stumbling into the desk.

 _Wherever you go, I'll just be one step ahead._ Bronev's infamous phrase was what stuck in Descole's mind.

He whipped back around, holding the sword up to Bronev's neck. "You're not mistreating her like that again. She's coming with us. " He hissed, but the bushy-haired man didn't even flinch.

There was a click, as Bronev pushed a new magazine into his handgun, before pointing it at the spectacled man's head.

"Or what?"


	20. Chapter 20

"Or what?" The shag-haired man challenged wickedly, flashing his teeth.

 _Always one step ahead._

His fingers hovered at the side of the gun, but he wasn't ready to curl them around the trigger just yet. It was still far too early to commit.

* * *

Raymond took another quick glance at the clock. It had been over two hours now - he had watched it go by minute by minute. Only God knew what sort of life-threatening predicament his master could have been thrown into over the course of these two hours.

The butler twiddled with Keats' knotted fur continually, staring out at the concrete jungle of the Nest. With each and every second that his master loitered in there, the chance of him being caught - or worse - increased.

He had gotten himself into a swither with no options. There was no way that he could go in there to help without causing problems. The ticking clock that continued to mock his helplessness wasn't making it easier.

Keats looked up at the tired man with inquisitive eyes, giving a soft meow that broke the silence. Raymond let his restless hand roll off his lap. "He could be dead already." the butler said bluntly.

He had been working for the Sycamore family for as long as he could remember - it was almost as if he had spent his entire life dedicated to serving them. Despite this, he hadn't ever enjoyed his job - not until Desmond came along.

* * *

Descole took in a deep breath and tensed up, bringing the blade closer to the other man's neck, trying his luck with an unsteady arm. "You wouldn't." He said brusquely, strong with defiance. He knew that Bronev never did his own dirty work - this was yet another empty threat. "You wouldn't dare get blood on your own hands."

The gun crept closer as Bronev's hands twitched; the unexpected tingle of the icy cold metal grazing his skin. "Say that again." The bearded man urged. "I _dare_ you."

Layton pulled a protective arm around Luke, who had curled up unable to watch the situation unfold. He glanced over at Aurora. The girl was frozen in one spot.

After noticing Layton's glance, Aurora shuffled with tiny hesitant steps next to him, focusing on the blue carpet beneath her feet, holding her pale hands close to her chest.

Professor Sycamore - Descole - seemed to believe that he had rescued her, freeing her from the prison that these Targent monsters had locked her up in. But, in the process, he had become a monster himself.

"You would not." Descole repeated through gritted teeth, sweat from his forehead beginning to drip into his hair. He was beginning to doubt his own words - Bronev had got his men to shoot at him before.

But he had to repeat it. He was not going to allow Bronev to feel the satisfaction of him seeing him give in.

Emmy winced as she saw Bronev's face contort slowly into a wide, evil grin that she instantly recognised the meaning of. In that moment, the room's temperature appeared to plummet- if it got any colder Emmy was certain that she'd see her own breath.

The sudden chill made her shiver, but no one else seemed to feel it.

* * *

Raymond hummed quietly - reminiscing was taking his mind off the waiting. He remembered the first time that he'd met the young Desmond - the boy must have only been around twelve and had just been taken in by the family as one of their own. He refused to speak to anyone.

Keats pushed his head into the old man's hand with a purr so Raymond ran his hand along the back of the cat's ears.

Quiet and observant, but distant and stubborn, Desmond had soon taken to the butler, choosing Raymond over his adoptive parents. The pair had been close companions ever since.

Raymond shook his head. "And I'm still sitting here none the wiser." He added with a sigh, feeling weighed down inside. It was now a matter of hoping for the best and waiting for his master to return.

* * *

"Trying to be brave, are we?" Bronev sneered. "You'll wish you never did!" His fingers were rested on the trigger now, one sudden move and it would be all over.

Descole opened his mouth to fight back against Bronev with his words, but only a strangled gasp came out.

"Please! No!" A cry came from across the room. Emmy raised her head to look at her uncle, her face was drained of colour. "Please stop!" She begged. He was going too far. She would never forgive herself if she stood and watched him kill another person - even if that person was one who had caused them so much trouble.

Descole looked to Emmy. She was one of them and yet up until now she hadn't interfered - were her lies to Layton more important? His defeated eyes shifted to the professor, who was still shielding Luke. His brother had no idea what any of this really meant.

His eyes moved back onto the gun, to see that Bronev's large, oil-stained fingers were on the trigger. In his mind, Descole begged for it to just be over. Targent had beaten him.

The strong grip on his sword that he had held with determination began to falter. Perhaps he would finally get to be with his family again - the family that Bronev had torn apart and tossed aside.

"Bronev, don't do this!" Layton shouted to the man.

Sweating profusely, Bronev didn't bother to look up to acknowledge the dissuasion from his youngest son. Instead, he made low grumble.

"Bronev you can't-"

A loud, forceful bang echoed throughout the room, cutting Layton off.


	21. Chapter 21

A loud, forceful bang reverberated throughout the room. Everyone appeared to flinch at once.

And then it was followed by a haunting silence.

Sending the shaken Sycamore stumbling backwards onto one of the empty desks, Bronev promenaded over to the room's entrance. There, he stood regally beside the towering door.

Luke covered his eyes, Aurora looked away; but Emmy watched her uncle closely.

Bronev's impassive stare met Layton's. "I doubt you're going try anything. Well, not considering..." Bronev gestured calmly with his arm to the right. He paced back and forth with confidence, then raising his chin ever so slightly, he continued. "But just in case, here's your warning: _Do_. _Not_. _Move_."

Upon hearing Bronev's raspy voice, Descole opened, one at a time, the eyes that he'd never intended to be screwed shut. He wasn't in any excruciating pain, but the his head felt light, spinning, yet burning hot and stinging with sweat. But most importantly, he realised he no longer had the end of Bronev's gun pointed at him. The man's chestnut-coloured eyes widened and his breathing slowed, mouth open.

A similar stunned reaction was painted on the faces of Emmy and Aurora. Both of the young women's eyes were darting around the room. Within seconds, however, their eyes had both been drawn, like a moth to a light, over to the same spot.

Descole forced himself upright and adjusted his tie and glasses, pushing his heavy head up with his fingertips. His eyes followed the direction of their gaze, the giddiness from moments ago starting to fade. He gave a sharp intake of breath.

The doors had been flung open, and in had marched Swift, followed by a posse of uniformed Targent members, all holding machine guns. Each member was positioned facing a different person, and there were no exceptions - even Luke found himself a target; a harsh reminder of Bronev's depravity.

"Hmpf! I knew that you wouldn't do it." He said in a raised voice. Descole took a few steps forward, his fingertips still curled around his weapon.  
He surveyed everyone's position in the room. Aurora - the only one that he was bothered about at that moment - was stood next to Layton, too far away for him to be able to grab her and escape successfully.

Instead, he turned his attention to Bronev. He should have trusted his initial thoughts - Bronev wouldn't be able to follow through with his threats. Descole almost laughed at the man's incapacity.

Except then another problem came to mind: he wouldn't carry out his threats _alone._

"Did you hear my cautionary advice, Sycamore? - oh sorry, what is it you call yourself now? - _Descole_." Bronev said with a snigger, pulling the other man out of his thoughts. When Layton didn't show a hint of disbelief about Sycamore's identity, Bronev continued. "Ah. Well let's hope so, because I won't be repeating it for your sake." He was hoping that Layton would have turned on Sycamore which would help them get hold of the eggs, but the top-hatted professor seemed to have other ideas.

Descole balled his fist and slammed it onto the desk beside him. Had it always been that obvious? Perhaps Emmy had been the one to tell him. Either way, he was now determined more than ever to show Bronev that he never should have interfered with his family.

The other man gave a tut-tut of disapproval, shaking his head. "What are you waiting for? Get the girl back!" Bronev ordered, noticing that majority of his armed members hadn't moved from the doorway.

The Targent henchmen moved forward.

Luke felt Aurora tense up beside him. He placed a warm hand on hers and the girl opened up her closed eyes. He wanted to apologise for not looking after her with more care, for making her feel secure when she wasn't, for getting her in this whole situation, but now wasn't the time.

Bronev watched his men surround the intruders. His plan was perfectly formulated. He would only allow them to have Aurora back if he got all five eggs - and he didn't see Layton and Descole both agreeing to part with them. If and when he did get them, he would simply activate the stones before returning Aurora. There was no losing this time.

Aurora gave Luke a gentle smile, trying to eliminate all signs of fear on her face, but pulled her hand away from his. The boy's heart sank a little as he felt her cool skin move away. She wasn't doing it out of disapproval, however. She just didn't wish for Luke to be put in harms way when she was targeted.

Layton's hand had moved to the rim of his hat, as it often did when he was in thought or situation became more intense. All of the exits, bar the windows which wouldn't be the wisest option, were guarded by armed henchmen. There was truly no safe way out. "Bronev, please reconsider what you are doing!"

"He's not going to listen to that!" Descole yelled. Evidently Layton wasn't familiar enough with Bronev's methods. "He's not going to listen to any of us!"

"Hah. He's right - _for once_." Bronev said. He had got them surrounded.

Descole glared at the other man. His chest moved slowly as he inhaled, but his heavy breathing became one of the loudest sounds in the room. If he was standing with the rest of them then perhaps he could take back Aurora - but was it worth risking the lives of all of them just to do so?

Emmy stood with her mouth held open. If she tried to attack the Targent members to save Aurora then Bronev wouldn't be happy.

She scanned the faces of the Targent members around her. Many of them she recognised. The woman looked down submissively. Any attempt to protect Aurora would be betraying Targent and her uncle. She only hoped that Layton would find a way to stop Bronev's madness.

To everyone's shock, it was Aurora who moved next with long, decisive strides into the centre of the room.

"Aurora!" Layton exclaimed. He reached out an arm and ran over. Luke attempted to follow before being pulled back by Emmy. He just wanted to help his friend.

Seeing the professor hurry over to the girl, Descole did the same. Letting Layton take back Aurora wasn't an option - this was his round to win.

The two men exchanged an intense, narrow eyed glower - they knew that only one of them would get her back.

There was more shuffling. The Targent minions all had the same look on their faces. They were unsure; hesitant to shoot in case they hit the emissary.

Accepting that they were both determined to keep the Azran girl safe, Descole raised his sword - it was the only thing that the three of them had between them for protection. Bronev muffled a laugh at the pitiful endeavour.

This was her chance. Aurora closed her eyes, clearing her mind. She took a long, slow intake of breath to focus. She didn't know if the effects would extend to the guns, but what else could she do?

"What is she...?" Descole said as a murmur, his voice was quieter but still harsh.

"Stop it!" Aurora cried. Her eyes tightened and she brought her hands close to her body. If they didn't know any better, they would have concluded that the girl had been shot from the agony on her face.

The lights in the room began to flicker, and Bronev cursed under his breath. He had been nice to them, but if threats weren't going to work then maybe it was time to start using force. Before he could make any more orders, a blinding white light obscured his vision.

All they heard was a thud as something hit the floor.


	22. Chapter 22

There was a thud as something - or rather, someone - hit the tiled floor.

Layton could hear the broken whirring of machinery underneath the clamour of discomfort which could only mean that Aurora created another shockwave. There was a difference, however. Last time had created one of them bizarre shockwaves, the room had become dark - not light. As a result it seemed to come as a surprise to everyone just as equally.

Within seconds the white luminescence had gone - faded away as quickly as it had appeared. Layton squinted; everything was still a blur. If he had expected such a bright light he would have closed his eyes in preparation.

Frantic footsteps ran towards Layton, echoing as they hit the tile from the carpet. The professor then felt the grip of small hands on his arm. The hands tugged at his jacket sleeves.

"Professor! She's gone!" Luke's voice cried. His young eyes had been the first to recover from the unexpected light.

The professor looked to his left and blinked his eyes a few times. Beneath the blur, he could just about make out that not only had Aurora gone, but so had Descole.

"He's taken her!" Bronev growled. This was meant to be a fail-proof plan - under any other circumstances there would have been no chance of the man escaping. "Go after him!"

The men, who were all in various stages of recovery from the blinding light (despite wearing sunglasses), began to totter their way to the door in a rushed rabble.

"You'd better hope that we get her back." The bearded man said before storming out of the room. The large doors slammed behind him, leaving only Luke and Emmy in there along with Layton.

 _Even more threats_ Emmy thought. This was becoming a car crash because of knew that she was supposed to be working against the professor, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel concerned - after working with him for so long she had grown quite attached to the intellectual top-hatted man. She thought to be the first to speak up, but decided against it.

"What do we do, professor?" the boy asked, still tugging on Layton's jacket with small movements. He felt he had to help in some sort of way.

The professor appeared to stop to think for a moment. "I'm going after him"

"But how? Targent are much further ahead by now - we won't be able to catch up with him before they do." Luke said, his wide eyes peeking out from under his cap.

"Don't worry Luke, I have an idea. I will just need your help - and Emmy's."

* * *

 _A lucky escape_ Descole thought as he made his way through the side streets. He recalled bumping into a few Targent men as he made a beeline for the exit onto the roof, but thankfully they were too confused by the light to try to stop him. It was a risk of his that actually paid off.

Looking down at Aurora, he saw that she still not moved. That was worrying. The girl had hit her head off the wooden steps as she fell onto the tile, and he only hoped that when she came around she was still okay.

In the alleys, nothing much had changed - it was still practically silent; but that silence wouldn't last long. _They will be coming_. _Any second_. Descole thought, and quickened his pace.

"Huh?" Aurora murmured. What was happening? She could hear the fast tapping of footsteps from beneath her, but they were not her own. She tried stretching one of her limp hands but it was like her energy had been sapped.

The girl began to stir in his arms, her blue eyes like gems glimmering in the slip of sunlight that hadn't been blocked by the tall buildings. She didn't appear to be in pain - surprising after her fall. For a second he considered the possibility that she could be one of the elaborately crafted Azran robots that he had researched a couple of months prior to discovering the girl in the ice. No, that was an absurd notion. The Azran were advanced, but no robot could have the capability to feel emotion, surely.

Aurora gave a second confused mumble. As she looked up, her weary eyes met with those of Professor Sycamore.

Descole looked away immediately. It was all too familiar.

Vivid flashbacks of a young girl in his arms came to him. Her life running out of her with each staccato tick of the clock. If he closed his eyes it was almost as if he was reliving the heart-wrenching moment all over again. He was too late to save the love of his life, but he was determined that he wasn't going to let such a intelligent caring and beautiful young girl die. And yet she did.

The suffocating scent had returned as he neared the Bostonius. Paired with the memories it was beginning to get too much, the anger from earlier hadn't gone away and now it looked like it was going to rear its ugly head again.

He stumbled back up the steps of the airship where Raymond was already waiting. _Thank goodness Raymond had not left him like everyone else seemed to_. He only managed a grumble as he handed Aurora over to the butler.

The Scotsman hid his concerns he took the girl into his arms. It didn't seem right. _Desm- Master hadn't gone there to kidnap Aurora_ He thought. It was obvious that his master had become attached to the strange girl. It wasn't much of a surprise, she and his daughter were very much alike.

* * *

"Be careful, professor." Luke said, edging away from the open rooftop with small steps. The height was beginning to remind him of the incident at the Reunion Inn.

"We will meet you down there." Emmy assured.

"You take care too." And with a courageous deep breath, he jumped off the rooftop.

Luke let out a nervous "Ack!", briefly parting his gritted teeth. The professor was a lot braver than he felt he could ever be.

"Come on then, Luke." Emmy said, tapping the boy on his shoulder then running off back to the lift.

With reluctance, Luke tore his eyes away from Layton. _The professor knows what he's doing_. he thought to reassure himself, then ran after her.

* * *

"Descole! Stop right-" Layton began, unhooking the pipe that he had been gripping onto. "There!" he finished, his words forced out as he launched himself forward.

Descole pulled out his sword almost instinctively and dashed down the steps, bringing his sword up to counter Layton's ambush.

The clang of the colliding metals echoed in their ears.

Layton was thrown backwards.

"No! I will not let them-"

A lunge from the other man came towards him; catching him unawares.

He dodged it. Just.

"I have to unlock the legacy!"

Now it was his turn to fight back.

* * *

"Don't you want to push the buttons, Luke?" Emmy asked with a mischievous grin on her lips. The boy had insisted on doing it for both trips on the way up, but this time he stood silently.

"No..."

Emmy didn't reply, expecting him to elaborate - he didn't. There was definitely something wrong. "Are you feeling all right, Luke?"

He "Do you think the professor will get to Aurora in time?" The boy said, growing quieter with each word. "I can't believe I-"

"Luke, listen here, has the professor ever let us down?" Emmy said, her tone softening.

He gulped and shook his head, holding his lips firmly shut.

"See? Don't worry!"

"But I told her that she would be safe with us all there... and she wasn't" Luke looked down at his feet. "I only wanted to help her."

Emmy lowered her eyes and leaned back onto the side of the lift. "It isn't your fault, Luke" She said. It was her fault that Aurora had been taken. It was her fault that the boy felt that he was responsible. She crouched down to look the boy in the eyes and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I _know_ that it isn't your fault." Emmy said, just managing a smile. This proved that they were better off without her.

Finally, the doors of the lift opened.

"If you're sure..." Luke mumbled. He could hear footsteps as he exited the lift. "It will be safe to get back out, won't it?"

Bronev had told her that the other Targent members knew to ignore them - or at the very least do no more than intimidate them. "Yes, they should all be focused on catching Descole"

The pair made their way to the exit, but as Emmy opened the door, a sound made her jump.

"Emmeline?"

* * *

Firstly I need to mention that I was looking up a picture of Bronev's office and realised my memory of it was a little off, so sorry about that.

And I'm thinking there's going to be about 25 chapters in total. That may (or may not) change depending on how long each of them end up.


	23. Chapter 23

"Emmeline?"

Emmy whipped around. _That voice..._ She thought, scratching her fingers on her palms. _It couldn't be- wasn't he meant to be chasing after Descole? And not-_

The sound of leisurely footsteps moved across the floor, echoing with each pace.

 _Why was she still standing in the doorway?_ He had already ran outside, but Emmy hadn't moved. The boy began to run over to her.

"Emmy?" Called Luke, having heard the other voice from inside the building. _They had to get back to the professor! It wasn't safe to stay in here._

Just before he could reach her side, Luke was forced to come to an abrupt halt.

He looked up.

Dark pointed shoes, white trousers, a stiff jacket and a shaggy mane of hair towered above him.

 _No, Luke didn't deserve to find out. Not like this._

Emmy clenched her jaw, pressing her gritted teeth harder together. Behind her tough exterior hid a desperate panic. She buried her restless hands into her folded arms, trying to restrain the guilty butterflies that weighed down her from the inside. She and Bronev had agreed to not reveal anything until it was absolutely necessary - or so she had thought. _What had changed?_

"E-Emm..eline?" Luke repeated, his voice little more than a whisper. Bronev's words had only just registered. _Why did he call her_ -

* * *

A gust of wind sent Descole's red tie flying over his shoulder and his undone suit jacket flapping back. He snorted in amusement, watching as Layton's hands shot up to keep hold of his top hat.

 _Now was the perfect time to strike._

Descole launched himself forward, swinging his sword. There was no way he would let anybody stop him, not now, and especially not Layton.

Caught off-guard, Layton flinched back; kicking gravel into the air. He had no choice but to parry blow after blow.

 _It was his own fault, he shouldn't have gotten distracted by a hat._

Descole rammed his sword into the pipe at a perpendicular. The other man was forced to tighten his grip.

Layton's hands were visibly shaking from the pressure as they pushed against one another.

 _This wouldn't accomplish anything._ Descole thought. _Layton's too stubborn to give in._

Feeling a sudden surge of strength run into his arm, Descole thrust his sword forwards.

Layton was sent flying back.

The scraping sound of loose gravel against his clothes pierced his ears as he skid across the floor. The tiny stones dug into the skin on his hands, bringing a sudden burning sensation. Layton winced with a fast hissing intake of breath.

He fell into a heap, the pipe landing just out of his reach. All he could hear was his own panting breaths. It was only a matter of time before the Targent agents found them here. "Descole! Think about how-"

The other man's taunting cackle of laughter interrupted him. "You're oblivious, Layton. You know nothing at all!"

 _What was he on about?_ Layton groaned, pushing himself up with his grazed hands. _It's just a scrape._ He thought. _Just a stinging scrape..._

The shuffling of gravel (which he presumed to be the other man moving towards him) reminded him that he needed to needed to focus again.

"Descole! Think about Aurora!" He said. He only hoped that the man's affection for the girl wasn't also an act. "She trusted you the most out of all of us!"

The shuffling stopped. He didn't hear a response.

 _...were those few words enough to have changed his mind?_

Descole huffed hoarsely, and his hands tensed up.

"No!" He roared. His eyes were set ablaze with a fury more piercing and intense than Layton had ever thought was possible. "The Azran legacy is all I have to live for!" He said, swatting the air with his sword. He would _never_ let it all go - not after all he had been through to get this far.

Layton scrambled to is feet, grabbing the fallen pipe. This wasn't going to be over with ease.

He braced himself for impact, and with a clank, the two weapons met again.

* * *

Bronev's mind was whirring.

Emmeline was supposed to be there for leverage for when Layton got in the way. Now that the boy had heard he would run and blab.

 _The other plan could have completely eliminated this problem..._ He thought.

It was too close. Emmy watched as her uncle debated with himself - he had made a mistake that he couldn't blame anyone else for. She reached for her camera case and pulled out a set of keys. She couldn't stand it anymore. The guilt that had welled up in her was just waiting to overflow. She looked down at the keys that dangled around her finger. _This...This would make things easier for everyone in the end._

"Luke, I am-" Her voice faltered. "I am so sorry."

She had served most of her purpose - thanks to Emmeline they been able to claim all of the Azran sites practically unchallenged. Besides, it wasn't Layton who they had to worry about right now - they could afford to have nobody so close spying on him.

Emmy dropped the keys into Luke's hands, looking down as they fell. She couldn't hold his gaze. He had to go back to the professor - if he lingered here for too long then he too could get dragged in to be used as blackmail. She had seen for herself that Layton would risk his own life to protect the young boy - she couldn't let him get into another situation where he would have to.

"Wha- Emmy, I don't 's going on? Why are-"

"Luke I-" She shut her eyes. _How could you tell a child that you have spent the past years betraying them?*_

"Emmeline." Bronev's voice was stern. If she took any longer then there would be no need to say goodbye to the child. He looked down at Luke. "She works for us, boy."

Luke stared back, his mouth held open as. It was as if he had been paused. _It wasn't true - it couldn't be! Emmy was their friend!_ His eyes began to well up.

She crouched down and placed a hand on his upper arm. "Tell the professor that I'm sorry."

"But Emmy-" Luke snivveled.

"Luke, please. You need to go back to the professor."

Bronev made his way to the door to one of the meeting rooms, remaining silent. Emmeline needed to be clued up on all of the happenings since she had been gone. He opened the door and looked over to Emmy. The girl stood up and looked at him with sorrowful eyes.

 _No matter, she'd get over it._

He held the door open and motioned for her to enter. There were some important matters that they needed to discuss.

* * *

The side of the Bostonius was right behind Layton. He tried to hold his ground, using the pipe to ward off the other man; Descole kept advancing, pushing him back.

 _There's nowhere left for him to go now._ Descole thought, bringing a malicious grin to his face.

With the point of his sword aimed at Layton, he lunged forward.

Layton flinched out of the way. The sword edge missed his hand by mere inches.

The sound of ripping material tore through their ears, and the Azran egg that the professor had taken back from Bronev tumbled to the floor.

They both glanced at each other with fierce determination. Both swooped down to grab it, but Descole maganged to swipe it first.

With one last strike, Descole knocked Layton's pipe back, before running up onto the Bostonius stairs.

"Raymond!"

There was a muffled "Yes master." And the airships engine started up.

Layton had no choice but to stand back and watch as it flew higher into the sky.


	24. Chapter 24

Aurora gazed out through the window. Professor Layton was just a speck on the ground now, as the airship flew higher into the sky.

She felt safer being back up in the Bostonius again, but it was an empty sort of safe. The sort of safe feeling that she knew was misplaced. He had only saved her for his own ends - to retaliate against Targent. She wanted to believe that he would have still rescued her out of kindness - _he would have done, wouldn't he?_

"Aurora?"

She didn't want to turn around, she knew what was coming next.

The Azran wanted only those with pure motives to be let into the sanctuary. _But what were his motives? Just revenge?_ Something was driving him - something big enough to have fully engulfed Desmond Sycamore and turned him into...

"Aurora, it's time."

She looked over her shoulder. Slowly, she turned around to face him. Her hands were clasped under her chin.

 _The mask. He was wearing the mask again._

Descole placed the other four eggs down onto the table then stood back. He had been waiting for this.

Aurora made her way over and hovered her hands above. She could already feel the warmth radiating them. With a deep breath, she closed her sparkling blue eyes.

* * *

Layton breathed in shallow gasps, watching as the red airship took off. He couldn't believe that he had let Descole get away with the eggs - let alone Aurora.

 _Where would he be taking her?_ He wondered. He had a little look around - the streets were still empty. _And where were Luke and Emmy? If they didn't get out of this place soon then they'd be at risk of getting-_

Quick footsteps came running towards him. Before he could turn to look, he was gripped from the side.

"Professoor!" Luke cried, tucking himself under Layton's arm. He squeezed his eyes shut, remembering what Layton had told him on their first ever adventure: _"You need to keep a clear mind"_ He thought. _The professor would know what to do._

Layton jumped a little. "Luke, my boy. You gave me quite the surprise. I was beginning to worry where you had got to." He looked up. - there was nobody else here. His tone became suddenly very serious. "Luke, where is Emmy?"

He felt Luke tense up.

The boy released his grip and moved back with tiny steps. "E-Emmy's-" His speech tumbled with a shuddering breath. He couldn't believe what he was about to say.

"Luke _..._ what is it? What has happened to Emmy?"

"Emmy is _-_ " He gulped _._ "Emmy is part of Targent."

Aurora clutched the keystone against her chest. It felt like her head was spinning. She remembered everything. Everything that she had been created to do, and everything that would happen if she fulfilled her role.

"No..." She said, her whispy voice quivering. The memories had come like a flash of lightning, then inundated her like the downpour that followed. "I can't- It's a lie!"

 _They couldn't do it. Whatever happened, no one could unleash the Azran legacy._

She wanted to run, so she did.

The girl threw herself into the door of the airship, grasping the handle with both hands and pulling back with as much strength as she could manage.

"Aurora!" Descole said sharply.

Her hair flew back as she spun around. She looked up at him with widened, desperate eyes.

"As long as I remain, only ruin awaits." She said, shaking her head as her hold on the keystone grew tighter. "If I were gone-"

He staggered back. "You want me to allow you to-" He stood with his mouth held open.

 _To let her kill herself?_

"No! You can't - I won't allow it!"

The girl fell to her knees, her hands dropped into her lap. "But what am I supposed to do?"

The world was in danger, she didn't want to live to see all of these people - these wonderful, wonderful people - suffer. If she were gone, along with the keystone, maybe there would be hope.

Descole stayed silent.

 _To unlock the Azran Legacy before Targent did..._

It had been a goal that deep down, he knew he would never achieve.

Yet here he was - he had the keystone, he had the emissary, soon he would unlock the legacy too - somehow he had won, and he had done so without having to keep his intentions hidden.

He hadn't thought anything of the ill effects that would come of it. _They didn't matter._ Is what he had thought. _Nothing really mattered. Everything - **everyone** \- was already lost._

"The Azran... They wanted whoever got this far to know: 'In the place of awakening, the gateway stands.'" The words rolled off her tounge as if she was programmed to say them. She wished she hadn't have had to.

Descole exhaled quietly. He picked at the feathers on his boa as he paced towards the front of the airship.

"Raymond? Change of plan."

 _Did that mean..?_

"Professor..? Please, you mustn't!" Aurora cried, hugging her arms around her shoulders. "What are you doing?"

"We're going back to Froenborg."

* * *

"She gave you the keys for her plane?"

Luke nodded. "She said we need to go back to Froenborg - that's where she said Descole would be heading for."

Once Layton had unlocked it, the boy clambered into the passenger seat. "Professor?" He said, leaning over onto the seat in front. "Emmy is still on our side, isn't she?"

Layton leaned to the side and turned his head. "It sounds that way." He said with a reassuring smile; but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it.

If she had been working for Targent all this time then it would explain her random, unexplained appearance when he was on his way to Misthallery. _But was she really helping them?_ Surely betraying Bronev ran huge risks, so if she worked for him why would she try her luck by doing it?

* * *

Emmy made her way into the room. It was empty apart from the desk and chairs in the center. The heat inside was stifling.

Bronev took a seat on the far side of the desk.

"Sit." He commanded.

Emmy dropped into the empty chair opposite.

Next to her, was a young lady who looked a bit younger than herself. The girl leaned on the table with her elbow, delicately resting her chin on her hand.

"Emmeline, I'd like you to meet Alexandra." Bronev said clasping both of his hands together. "Alexandra, this is Emmeline."

The girl offered out her hand and a strand of ashy hair fell from behind her ear. "Alex." She said, her green eyes narrowing as the corners of her mouth twitched into a smile.

"Emmy." She shook the girl's hand, not quite returning the smile. As she did so something caught her eye.

On the back of her chair was a red trench coat. A crimson red trench coat.

 _This was the woman who had helped to kidnap Aurora._

Bronev gave a chuckle. "You should get along nicely. We recruited her to keep an eye on -"

"Here, _I_ can fill her in." Alex interrupted.

Bronev grunted but said nothing. Emmy thought of how she'd never dream of cutting off her uncle whilst he was speaking.

"I've been following that Descole man - _ugh_!" Alex said in disgust. "Last I saw of him was in Kodh - went into the ruins at the lake after he had left. Except the location on the dome said that all of the eggs were on their way here to the Nest already.  
Everyone assumed that it was Layton. If we'd have known it was _him_ then we wouldn't have lost the Emissary."

Emmy shuffled in her seat. _Since when did Bronev recruit people and give them all of the information straight off?_ she wondered.

Bronev nodded slightly. "Yes, now you two have met you can go now, don't you have a training session to go to? I expect to see you in half an hour to set off for Froenborg."

Emmy eyed the woman with suspicion as she picked up her coat and left the room.

"Don't look so shocked, Emmeline." Bronev said as he stood up out of his seat.

Emmy snapped her head towards him.

"She only knows all of that because she was listening-in." He gave a soundless chuckle. "A good habit for a spy though, wouldn't you say? She's a good shooter too - very fast. You'll both make a good team."

 _A good team?_ Emmy thought. _It wouldn't work. This girl sounded as if she'd been brainwashed just like her uncle had been._

* * *

 _Yeaaah... I had no intentions of putting an OC into this, but Targent needed someone who wasn't a joke._


	25. Chapter 25

The pools of water in the rocks had frozen solid. Descole was thankful that he hadn't thrown off his cape in attempt to be dramatic - the cave had grown much colder since they had last been in there - a change which was a sign the Azran were ready to pass over their legacy. He continued to walk, doing his best to occupy his mind to block out the protests of Aurora behind him. Yes, this was a death sentence - he was well aware of that.

When he had reached the top of the steps up to the gateway, he stopped.

Aurora also came to a halt, leaving a large gap between them. Her hands hung at her sides. _Why was he not listening?_

"Please, professor!" She begged, cradling her face in her cold hands. Maybe now that he had stopped moving he would acknowledge what she was telling him. "The Azran legacy... It isn't what you think - it has the power to destroy the world!"

Descole spun around and took a few slow steps towards her. Behind the mask and straight face, it was impossible to tell how he was feeling. "I don't think you quite understand, Aurora." He said flatly, and then the pace of his speech quickened in frustration. "I have dedicated my whole life to this: I spent days on end researching, building machines, preparing myself in every way possible. And I lost my family in the process." He shook his head. "I know what will happen, and I do not care anymore - so long as Targent loses."

He didn't know why he was bothering to explain himself, but it wasn't worth wasting any more time doing. Turning back around, Descole took out the keystone - oddly, it was warm to the touch.

Aurora dropped her hands back down. _How could a person be so obsessed with revenge that they forget that other people have family, friends, lives to live..?_ She took a deep breath in. This would be risky to say, but he had to hear it. "Professor, I-I _know_ that you are a good man. You still have the capability to love and... to hope."

Descole stopped in his tracks. A droplet of icy water from the rocks above fell, trailed down the end of his hat, dripping onto his cheek. _What did she just-_ He fixated his eyes on the intricate patterns on the gateway. "As Desmond Sycamore I hoped to get away from revenge, to live a normal life with my family." He murmured. "And you know what came of that?" He snapped suddenly, his voice full of bitterness. His gaze remained intense and unmoving. This shouldn't have gotten to him so easily.

Aurora looked down at her clasped hands. Evidently his mind was already set, but this wasn't something that she would give up on. "...Please, don't do it." She plead. "Don't be the cause of humanity's downfall."

"I told you - no, Aurora!" He shouted, the sound of his voice reverberated throughout the cave. He turned around to see the girl had lowered her deep blue eyes. When she looked up to see him staring back, she shuffled away. _She looked terrified._ For all it was worth, he could have apologised, but using the keystone was too important. He had to do it before-

"Descole! Stop right there."

The masked man cursed under his breath. _He comes to save the day yet again,_ He thought. _Typical._

"Descole, you will endanger all of us if you go ahead with this!" The professor's voice was direct and authortiative. "You _must_ listen to Aurora-"

"Must I?" He looked straight at layton. "The final Azran puzzle is mine to solve, and that is what I intend to do."

Luke had run straight over to Aurora, and was flooded with relief when he saw that she was safe. He gave her a warm smile, but it wasn't returned. His face dropped. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you did he?" He said with concern. _Why did she look so distressed?_

Aurora shook her head. "He won't listen," She whispered. Luke looked up at her sympathetically. "He says he knows what will happen but..." She paused. She could hear more footsteps coming from the entrance of the cave.

There was an audible cracking of ice, accompanied by a haughty laugh. " _We_ will be taking it from here, ladies and gentlemen."

They didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

Pushing past Layton, Bronev stood waiting by the steps, a smug grin on his face. His henchmen spread out behind him, and there was one in yellow that everyone was able to pick out.

"Hah, I see she betrayed you after all," Descole scoffed. "I did warn you."

Layton grumbled to himself, but said nothing.

Emmy felt everyone's eyes shift to her. _Why didn't the professor just believe Descole? It would have been a lot less painful,_ She thought. Her glazed stare lowered to the floor. _He didn't deserve any of this._

"Have you finished?" Bronev folded his arms. "Hand over the keystone."

 _Such complacency,_ Descole thought. He mirrored Bronev's folded his arms and smirked."As if _I'd_ listen to _tha-_ "

Guns were pointed at him from all directions.

Descole's hum of laughter trailed off. _How foolish of them._ He couldn't believe that they'd try to use _guns_ \- not when the Azran had measures in place to prevent weapons from working close to the sanctuary. He knew that, but evidently they had still not learnt it.

* * *

Keeping the arm in which she held her pistol outstretched, Alex moved over to Emmy. "Make _top hat_ get it back." She hissed between gritted teeth, not taking her narrowed eyes off her target.

Emmy's eyes cut to the other woman. "What? How?" She had already betrayed Layton. _Doing something could sever his respect even more._

"I don't know!" The other woman said. She flicked back a strand of her hair. "Threaten the kid."

 _Luke?!_ Emmy shivered. _Alex was too intense. They were meant to be threatening but..._ She looked over at the boy. He was looking away, distracted by the main action and occationally looking at Aurora. She couldn't - he was so It would have been different if it was under the orders of Uncle Leon - she would have had no choice then - but from someone who had only just joined the organisation? "No, I can't do that."

Alex shot her a death stare. "I'm sorry, what was that?" She asked, putting on a gentle voice.

Her saccharine tone made Emmy want to lash out, but she resisted the urge. She closed her eyes for a second. _Luke, Layton, I'm so sorry._ Upon opening them, she dashed towards Luke. Snapping an icicle off a rock, she brought the makeshift weapon to the boy's neck.

Luke let out a yelp, feeling the forceful thud of his heart against his ribcage. By the time he felt the frozen dagger at his neck, he was too terrified to make a sound.

Layton looked across at her with horrified disbelief. He had been too trusting - he should have never let the boy leave his side.

Descole barely twitched. "Do what you want to the boy." His voice had a hint of twisted amusement - he was expecting a real threat. "No matter to me."

"Professor," Emmy called. "Get us back the keystone."

Layton looked over to Descole with an unspoken indignation - he could have at least remained quiet. He turned back to Emmy. _Surely she wouldn't do anything to Luke. She may have decieved them, but she wasn't heartless._ "Emmy _why_? Why are you doing this? You must know what's at stake here."

Alex shifted her gun towards Layton.

"Hurry hurry, boys." Bronev taunted, tapping his fingers on his arm.

Emmy let herself exhale, and her grip on Luke fell slightly from the dizziness. She felt sick. She wouldn't hurt Luke, but Alex would undoubtedly have no qualms about shooting the professor.

"Layton," Descole began. He'd seen the man risk his own life to save that boy's more than once, but now was not the time to do it. He needed something to happen - right now he was locked in place by the guns pointed at him. "Don't you dare cooperate."

"He won't _have to_ cooperate if you hand over the-"

There was a cry of pain as a bullet ripped through the air.

* * *

 _Well there's only one more chapter left, but depending on how long it ends up I may make it into two._

 _And in response to one of the reviews I recieved on the last chapter: *Sadist mode on* time for some death, then._


	26. Chapter 26

**Quick warning here.**

 _Some descriptions of blood. If you want to avoid it, skip down to **below** the _ -(*-*)-

* * *

Descole staggered backwards as if hit by some invisible force. At first all he felt was a chilling numbness. His hand grappled at the place of impact; it was damp and... Somewhere in his mind he replayed the sound that followed the resounding rumble.

 _Something... was not right._

A searing pain ripped through his chest. He stumbled back, clamping down on his tongue too late to muffle the roar of agony.

With a trembling breath, he lifted away the hand that had desperately clutched his chest.

When he looked down, his face fell apart.

The blood-soaked shirt clung to his skin; the wave of red creeping further up his cape.

-(*-*)-

He pulled his head up, his mouth gaping open.

The woman in red brought back her gun, her eyes gleamed with satisfaction. _That would show Bronev that she was serious about working for Targent._

Emmy exhaled a frozen breath as she let the icicle slip out of her hand; but her hold on Luke remained tight and protective. _How could she do that in front of a child?_ She thought. _Luke had been through enough today._

" Hah... ah..." Descole winced with another staggered breath. "I hope you're satisfied now-" _Argh!_ He gasped in pain, gritting his teeth once again . His arm shook as he attempted to push himself up. There was only so many things a man could escape unscathed from and... he was afraid that this could be where his luck ran out.

He could see the woman's smug face grinning back at him. Behind her, Bronev looked on; resting his mouth on his fingertips.

The keystone rested loosely in Descole's weak hand - keeping a tight hold on it had become irrelevant; they could, and would take it now. _Unless..._

* * *

 _"Now now, Hershel. You wanted us to be a family again, did you not? This is your chance."_

* * *

He opened his mouth, in attempt to choke out some more words - he needed to finish what he had started to say. "-satisfied that youve had your little _follower_ go and kill your own _son_." He spluttered out the last word with a harshness that disguised his pain as anger.

He allowed himself to shut his eyes - besides, no one would be able to see. _What was I thinking?_ _That was a pathetic attempt._ He thought to himself. _As if reminding him would make him stop!_ _Bronev didn't care about family - not unless it could persuade someone to get him what he wanted._

Eyes had shot over to bronev, seemingly waiting for him to confirm what Descole had said.

 _Bronev was his..?_ Aurora's eyes lowered. _Family._ She couldn't grasp it. She sensed that he had been hiding something about Bronev, but this? _How could things have gone so wrong?_

* * *

 _"Can you not see what you have become? You're not my father - not anymore!"  
_

* * *

"Get the key!" Bronev snapped, directing his index finger towards Descole. His other hand twitched anxiously.

 _Son._

The uttering of that word had been just as unexpected as the gunshot.

"Quick! Get it off him!" He shouted again.

Alex looked back at him, raising her chin before she began to walk over. There was no rush - with a gun still in her hand, nobody would stop her.

A cold chill of air rushed through the cave entrance.

Emmy shuddered. She could see Layton's blank expression - and not blank in the way that indicated he was thinking. He looked completely lost - pained even - as to what to do. She just _knew_ the he wouldn't allow her anywhere near after this - she had threatened Luke's life! She'd thought that the professor would have been able to stop her uncle, but now it was clear - against a whole organisation, even he had no hope.

When she began to approach, Alex saw Descole eye the sword that lay beside him. Immediately, she brought back out the gun. Thrusting forward her other hand, she demanded to recieve the key.

Descole curled his lip and snarled. She knew very well that he couldn't hand it her. _If only that sword was a bit lighter then-_

"Auugh!" Something pounded against his head. _Hard_.

And at that, Alex prised the keystone from Descole's grasp effortlessly. Even if he had the time to think to resist, his weak hands stood no chance of keeping hold. She made a triumphant "humpf" and walked back to where she was standing previously, keystone held in hand.

"Ughah- ah- ah..." Descole threw back his head, but his attempt to laugh was pitiful. The throbbing pain in his head felt somehow distant, . "Go on then, use the key. You can get us all killed, that way-"

"Nonsense!" Bronev retorted. He snatched the keystone from Alex's hand.

The woman huffed and folded her arms - he was meant to be cool and in-control at times like this. Letting family matters get to him - the exact reason why Targent needed a new leader. She tapped her fingertips on her arm and went back to Emmy - no doubt Bronev would require assistance again.

"I shouldn't be surprised. You never did care about your family, did you?" Descole could see a faint blue glow begin to appear above him. _So now it decides to activate,_ he thought. _Fate really did play me a cruel hand..._

"What?" - another snap from Bronev. _Rachel..._ Even after they had been taken by Targent she had urged him to look out for their two sons. Now their eldest was dying at his feet, and whose fault was it?

Descole let go of his breath for a moment. He hadn't realised that he had spoken out loud; blabbering on - silently or otherwise - seemed to be the only thing distracting him from his injuries. "Y-you!" The man squirmed in discomfort - upon shouting, his vision had become blurred, and suddenly the sound of his own breathing was like the roar of an engine. "You had already proven how low you were years ago," He said. " _But_ -"

Another gunshot rang out, followed by the clinking of metal above them.


	27. Chapter 27

Another gunshot rang out, followed by the clinking of metal above else clattered against the cold, hard floor.

 _It was her fault._

The young woman shrieked inhaled vigourously.

Bronev didn't move. His glazed eyes could see her blurred figure in front of him, a trail of red spilling out from her arm.

Descole looked away, even _he_ had nothing left to say to his father now.

The older man grumbled to himself - _if it had been just a little more to the left..._

Emmy rushed forward to grab the fallen keystone. She tried to ignore Luke's innocent eyes that she could feel as if they were burning into her.

She reached down, and picked up the key with a swooping arm. As she straightened back up, she was confronted by the dread on her uncle's face. He hadn't moved an inch since the gun had gone off. He just stood there, hands now empty from where the magnetic field had seized his weapon.

"It was... her own fault..." Bronev said. The rise and fall of his chest had slowed to almost abnormal levels.

Layton looked over to Luke, who had shuffled towards Aurora. The young boy's eyes darted around the cave at the rocks above, never resting for too long. The professor could see from the cold air he was puffing out, that his breathing was rapid. No child should have ever had to see what he had done.

"You know who you're just like?"

The professor tensed up. Was he still talking to the lady?

"Bloom." He spat. "You think you're clever, but as soon as you're caught out..." Finally Bronev pulled back his arm that had held the gun, but the veins on his hand still stood out.

 _Bloom?_

The woman's glossy eyes looked up at him, then to Emmy, but there was no sympathy from either of them.

Quickly, he took the keystone from Emmy. She could hear him muttering something about how no one threaten his leadership of Targent - but then, as he reached the top of the steps, he stopped. Bronev took off his glasses and stared.

What was he doing leaving this man - Descole - no. Sycamore... no, _Hershel..._ to die? Surely the authorities would find out and-

Descole groaned and turned his head away.

Enemy or otherwise... he was still their son. Their pride and joy - _Rachel's pride and joy._

All but the two victims watched with anxious eyes as Bronev turned the keystone in his hand. Layton could see now that calling him father was not in jest - the two men were similar; in more ways than one.

 _This, the Ambrosian Kingdom, the Garden of Healing - in a way, both of his sons had helped Targent get this far._

Amidst the quiet, Emmy cried out. "Uncle Leon, please you-!"

"Silence!" He snapped back. He had to do this. It was the only way to fulfil Rachel's dream, she would be so glad to know that her sons had both been part of it and-

Bronev raised his arm triumphantly, key in hand. As he did, the great doorway into the unknown opened.

"Come, girl! You will help us solve the final puzzle." He looked over to Emmy sternly before grabbing Aurora and walking her through the doorway. The other Targent members followed. "Don't think that _you're_ going to get away with doing nothing either."

Alex looked as if she was about to retort, but she too followed along.

 _How can this be happening?_ Emmy thought. _Layton was supposed to stop uncle Leon before anything bad happened!_

Luke, who had tried to stop Aurora from being taken and was still in shock. The boy hadn't the energy to even bother resisting when Emmy lifted him up to take him with her.

Layton immediately moved forward.

"I'll leave him higher up, professor." Emmy said. She looked aside, blinking away the dampness in her eyes. "He will be safe from... this."

As Emmy and Luke disappeared through the gateway, Layton walked over to where Descole lay. From the occational sounds the man made, he could tell that he was still conscious.

"...I dont understand." He said, kneeling down.

Descole appeared to perk up slightly - if that was even possible in his position.

"Your aim was to unlock the legacy, but... you know what would happen if you did." Layton squinted his eyes, waiting for any sort of response. Descole was still breathing - barely - but more blood was seeping out from where he had tried to apply pressure to his wound.

There was not much that he could do to help. _Perhaps leaving would be the best option..._ Layton thought. As he did-

"I didn't care."

Layton's eyes widened.

"I _still don't care_... what will happen." He said, "Look at me - I'm dead either way." His arm slipped off his body slowly and the edge of his cape pulled with it his mask. Layton could see the pained expression on his face for a short moment before the man's arm lurched immidiately to attempt to pull it back. Instead of doing so, Descole felt hand placed calmly on his arm.

 _Why..?_ He thought. He couldn't let Layton see him like this. He could only be Professor Sycamore or the faceless man named Descole - not both... at the same time. _Why can't he just leave me die here alone? As I should do._

Layton looked at the other man carefully. What was there left to say to your dying enemy? "I-" Descole's expression remained vacant, but he continued. "I didn't realise Bronev was your-"

"Listen! Layton."

Descole's outburst took Layton aback.

"...There's something... important... that I need to tell you."

* * *

 _So you know how I said there would be about 25 chapters? And then on chapter 25 I said there would be two more? Well, let's just say we're now looking at about 30._


	28. Chapter 28

He could hear something stirring from within the next passageway - a grim-sounding grinding. Behind the four imposing archways, every few seconds, a beam of laser light would shoot down and the parts of a pitch black pathway would be revealed. It looked like a maze.

"Hmph, I was supposed to be given my most proficient men for this and each one has proved themselves to be completely inept." muttered Bronev. It was typical - at least now he knew what his first job would be to do once they had succeeded - there would need to be some shuffling within the ranks. "Right..." He hesitated a little, looking over to the young woman. "You're next."

"One wrong move here will cost a person their life... And there is only one correct path through. P-Please! Don't risk it!" No matter how many times Aurora reiterated it, Bronev's stance refused to change.

"I- _Ugh_!.." Why was everything going so _wrong_? She had no choice. She had agreed to this; pulling out now would only make the situation more dire. She began to walk over. Bronev's eyes followed carefully.

"How can you do this..?" Aurora stared at Bronev, her distant but piercing gaze looking dead into his soul. "She could be lost forever if you go ahead with this... You weren't responsible for losing your other men... but this is different - you're sending her to her death."

"What, does it matter? She agreed that, she would do _anything_ to help our cause." He said in rushed speech, pausing after every few words in an exasperated fashion. "And so she will do."

* * *

Layton gaped in silence. There were so many things that his mind should have been thinking about, but instead he could only listen to the ambience of the surroundings.

The slow dripping of water in the large chamber continued, but echoing down, he could hear the sound of running water. The chill of the room had a bite to it that seemed much more bitter than when he had first stepped in.

Layton blinked; clearing his mind.

" _He's... your father too._ "

The words kept repeating themselves in Layton's mind; the meaning still not entirely registering.

Descole could see that his younger brother was finding it difficult to process. There was something about it, however that gave him a feeling of relief. Finally telling him felt... _good._

Layton rubbed his temple. It was this man - the one who had fought him, tricked him, stood in his way so many times - that had given him this life he now has. He wouldn't even _be_ Professor Hershel Layton without him - his _brother_.

"I-I don't know what to..." he began, staring blankly down.

He wasn't given the time to think of anything to say either, as he heard the scream of a woman - one whose voice he could immediately recognise - Emmy's. The Professor's eyes widened and he quickly pulled a hand off the floor where he had been crouching. It was difficult to see what lay on the path ahead and the way it echoed down made it impossible to tell how far away they were.

For a brief moment, he wondered if Luke was okay, if he had heard that scream that had rung through the caverns. He turned to face the doorway that the boy had been taken through. For his parent's sake, Layton needed to prioritise Luke's safety right now - it was bad enough that he had let them run off with him.

" _It's okay_."

Layton looked back down at Descole.

"Go." He croaked, doing his best to overcome the weakness his voice initially projected. Layton opened his mouth to retort, then stopped. "This is it for me - you go on. You must stop our father before he sees this... madness through."

Slowly, Layton bowed his head - a sign of both understanding and thanks - then brought himself to his feet. He'd known for his entire life that he had family out there in the world - he knew that his parents were not his blood relatives - but never did he think to search for his real ones. Never did he *feel the need* to search for them, either. Then again, never did he think things would turn out like this; end like this - before it had really started.

"Please... do well for yourself, Layton."

 _Descole-!_ There was something in his voice, behind the mumble - _sincerity_. Layton looked back at him and smiled. "Thank you."

Descole didn't watch as Layton left. _Him dishing out compliments? What would Raymond say?!_

* * *

Layton wouldn't let himself look back as he walked through the door the keystone had opened. It was devastating - knowing that he had no choice now but to leave his long lost brother. The memories were vague, but the more that was spoken, the more the fuzziness surrounding them began to fade. At that point it was tempting to try to somehow force himself to repress everything... yet again. But he didn't.

Tearing his eyes up from the bloodstained floor, he could see Luke on the opposite side.

"Professoor!" He met his mentor's glance and the boy's eyes started to well up - again, presumably, as it looked like he had only just stopped crying. Luke shivered visibly, even from where Layton was standing. He hadn't heard the conversation in the other room, but he could see that even the stoic professor had lost some of his composure.

Part of the walkway across the ravine that separated the two was still in tact. The device in front of himself was half-completed, he knew what his task was, yet it still took some time him to comprehend properly what he was supposed to do.

When they were reunited, the boy's voice wasn't filled with relief - it was filled with dread.  
"Emmy..." he whispered, "what happened..?"

The puzzles that followed were solved mindlessly, mechanically. Luke didn't question when the professor went on and solved them by himself, instead he simply followed close. They had exchanged few words, but Luke did his best to hang on and stay strong. He wasn't sure how to feel anymore, he was clearly not the usual perky and upbeat boy, but somehow - and quite thankfully for Layton - he managed to feign a determined smile. At this moment, it was the one thing that gave Layton the willpower to fight through his state - if only for the boy's sake over his own.

* * *

Why him? Why did fate make it so that the one person standing in his way was his brother? He had thought that it was the loss of his family that drove him to all of the dreadful crimes that he had commited. _But was it really?_ It was impossible to believe - how could he have been so foolish as to be blinded by desire for revenge, to the point where he had turned against his remaining family? Layton hadn't done anything wrong - he knew that.

What was wrong with him? His life was a revenge plan - _this_ should never have been an issue, it shouldn't have mattered...

Descole wondered what Raymond was doing. Perhaps... perhaps with him gone, his faithful companion would be able to live a normal life - a stable one. However that relied solely on Layton's sucess.

What had come over him for that second earlier? _Do well for yourself?_ Layton probably thought it was a joke.

Another surge of pain ran through him, and this time it continued to throb harder. He knew now that there was nothing he could do to subdue it. And so he lay there for a moment, just letting his thoughts pass him by. He felt a slight sense of relief.

Beneath his half-fallen mask, Descole's eyes closed gently. He could hardly admit it to himself but... he really did mean those words.


End file.
